


Illusions and Lies (a Super Smash Brothers fanfiction)

by wingsoficarus



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Character Death, F/M, Genderfluid Sheik (Legend of Zelda), Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Underage Drinking, M/M, Male Corrin x Sheik is here, Male My Unit | Kamui | Corrin, Male My Unit | Reflet | Robin, Minor Character Death, Possible ooc actions for some characters and I apologize in advance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Samus and Ike get pushed into the background oops, Sheik Visibility Squad, There's a lot of dark stuff handled in this fic, Violence, Zelda and Sheik are not the same person, give Sheik screentime in Smash fanfictions, i did say there was a lot of dark stuff in this and i'm sorry, modern futuristic au, mostly because i'm lazy as hell, so prepare for the best ship you've never heard of, there's gonna be some background relationships that I don't want to tag, this story takes a while to pick up but i swear it's worth the wait, this won't end the way you think it will, your favorite characters can't be your favorite unless you torture them jessica
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:28:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 50
Words: 123,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsoficarus/pseuds/wingsoficarus
Summary: "we thought we were special. turns out, we were wrong."A group of teenagers who live in a place known only as "The Compound" are led to believe that they are the last people on the planet, aside from their ever-present caretakers. The Caretakers study them and their abilities, never once letting them know of the thriving outside world.In the outside world, everybody has abilities, known as "Gifts." The oppressive government prevents people from using these Gifts properly. A faction of rebels is on the rise, determined to retrieve the children they lost to this cruel government and create a fairer world for all."and we don't like being wrong..."This story is being cross-posted on Wattpad as well.Shoutout goes to the Super Smash Prose discord.If you're interested, the ID is gDK48ua
Relationships: Corrin/Sheik, Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Lucina/My Unit | Reflet | Robin, Marth/Sheeda | Caeda, Samus Aran/Ike (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 36





	1. BEFORE YOU READ.

Hey there! This foreword might look a little different from the version that's on Wattpad, which is fine. Different platforms require different things. Before we begin, I'd like to cover a few things just in case you didn't really read through the block of tags that I added. (If you didn't, I completely understand. There are a lot of tags. Sorry about that.) 

This story WILL contain several dark themes/triggering topics. These include somewhat detailed descriptions of blood and violence, suicide, depression, homophobia, child abuse, and death. On chapters that contain these topics, I will put a warning just in case. 

Without further ado, allow me to introduce our main cast of characters... (before you ask, yes I had to make up last names for some characters.)

**THE IMPRISONED**

THE LEADER

Marth Lowell

THE LIAR

Roy Pherae

THE BROKEN

Sheik Harkinian

THE BETRAYED

Zelda Harkinian

THE LOVER

Corrin Akamura 

THE LOST

Samus Aran

THE WARRIOR

Link Faron

THE SHADOW 

Lucina Lowell

THE BRAINS

Robin Ackerly

THE BRAWN

Ike Greil

**THE REBEL LEADERS**

THE PROMISED 

Caeda Talys

THE LOYAL

Shulk Forman


	2. TEARS OF BLOOD.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Semi-detailed torture scene towards the end of the chapter. Starting from the torturer walking to the victim to the group getting led back to their quarters is when the scene happens. View at your own discretion.

"Alright, brats. Listen up!" A Caretaker shouted as he walked down the hall, baton in hand. "Today, you're being seen by the Headmaster himself! So get up and make it snappy!"

Marth groaned when he was rudely awakened by the Caretaker banging on the metal door of his cell. Rolling over on to his back, he laid there and stared at the dark ceiling above him for a few seconds before the lights inevitably flickered on. There was a muffled groan from the dark shape under the blankets on the other side of the cell, and Marth looked over at the other person.

"Luci, it's time to get up." Marth said. His voice was slightly deeper from sleep, and he yawned as he sat up. 

"Five more minutes." Lucina groaned. 

"You heard the man. We have to get up." Marth repeated. 

"No." Lucina mumbled. "I don't care what the damn Headmaster wants. I'm not getting up. You know what they made me do yesterday..."

Marth sighed. "Lucina, please? At least do it for your poor brother..."

"Ugh, fine." Lucina groaned, but she sat up and shrugged the covers off anyway. 

Shortly afterwards, (which ended up being seventeen minutes later, because Lucina insisted on brushing her hair, complaining "if you're going to wake me up, I at least want to look like I'm somewhat alive!" To this, Marth merely rolled his eyes in exasperation and waited for his sister to finish.) Marth and Lucina were standing in front of their cell, waiting for the others to emerge. As usual, Zelda and her twin brother Sheik were next, followed closely by Robin and Ike. Corrin and Roy were next, and lastly Link and Samus were practically dragged out of their cells by two stern-faced Caretakers.

"Look alive!" one of the Caretakers shouted at Link when he yawned and nearly tripped over his own feet. "Come on, you should know better!" 

After looking over the sleepy faces of his friends, Marth took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "Follow me." Marth said simply, turning around and walking forward without hesitation.

The others hurried to catch up, not wanting to be left behind. As they walked, quiet conversations started. From his position at the head of the line, Marth could only catch snippets of conversation here and there. 

"Sheik, you have to talk to me! I can't help if you refuse to say anything!" Zelda exclaimed in exasperation. Marth didn't quite catch Sheik's mumbled reply, but he made a mental note to check on the other boy later. After all, a leader's worth was only measured by the state of his troops. Or in this case, his friends and fellow Gifted.

As the group walked, following the lead of Marth and the Caretaker who had woken them up, it was clear that something was wrong. When they passed a hallway that led to the Restricted Section, they saw a group of white-clothed Caretakers wrestling with someone. Curiously, Marth tried to look more closely at the person, but the Caretaker who had dragged Samus out of her cell noticed and stood in front of the entrance. Before they did that, Marth caught a glimpse of brown hair and a feathery white... wing of some kind. 

But Marth quickly dismissed the odd sight when he saw the next door after rounding a corner. It was the door to the Headmaster's office, a sight that he dreaded. Many of the others did, as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Marth saw Lucina shiver slightly at the sight of the door. He wished that he could comfort his sister, but he knew that he had to maintain the facade of the strong and confident leader in front of the Caretakers. However, Robin was walking by Lucina's side. The white haired boy grabbed Lucina's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. At this, Lucina looked at him and smiled slightly.

The smile quickly disappeared from her face when the lead Caretaker opened the door and said "Alright brats, here you are. Try not to die, got it?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Zelda mumbled. Clearly, since Sheik was feeling out of it, Zelda had taken it upon herself to be the snarky one. 

Marth led the group inside. After everyone was in the room, they automatically formed a line in front of the Headmaster's desk. Currently, the chair that they were sitting in was facing away from them.

"Ser Headmaster. You asked for us, and we are here." Marth said.

"Yes." The Headmaster turned around. Nobody had been able to figure out the Headmaster's gender. They were wearing a white mask with red patterns on it, and their voice sounded neither male nor female. "So you're all intact. That's a relief. After all, what would we do if you ten died?"

"I'm not sure, Headmaster." Marth said. "Isn't that your job to figure out?" Even though his voice remained calm, there was an unmistakable challenge in his words.

"Hmmm. Still as clever as ever, Marth. Some of your friends are looking a little under the weather. Could this be a sign of your failing abilities as a leader?" The Headmaster said. Even though it was hard to tell where they were looking, due to the mask, it was obvious that they were looking at Lucina and Sheik.

Before he replied, Marth felt another presence in the room. Panic seized him as he realized who it was, but he kept his face calm. The only sign of his discomfort was the slight hesitation before his reply. "I'm sure that any injuries that they incur are only the fault of themselves, and not me. You know that Sheik is by far the most rebellious, and my sister tends to fight against demands that she finds unfair."

The Headmaster made a slight hand gesture, and the ominous feeling in the room increased. "Marth, it almost sounds as if you're talking back to me. And you know what happens if you talk back."

"My apologies, Headmaster. It won't happen again." Marth was finding it hard to breathe, which only served to panic him more. His calm facade was close to slipping, and that would have terrible consequences for everybody if that happened...

"Of course. See that it doesn't." At another hand gesture, Marth could breathe freely again. The pressure backed off, but it didn't calm Marth's fears. In fact, it only confirmed them, and the Headmaster's next words chilled him to the bone. 

"Bring out Mr. Icarus."

One of the Caretakers by the door bowed and exited the room. They returned shortly afterwards, dragging a brown-haired boy with feathery white angel wings in. He looked like he was about thirteen, and he was clearly terrified.

"Here he is. Finally caught the little bastard trying to sneak into the sleeping quarters. About time we got to teach him a little lesson." The Caretaker grinned evilly as he spoke, only unsettling Marth further. 

"This young man is Pit Icarus. He's... been separated from you for years, and now he was trying to... get back to you. And since you clearly need to be taught a little lesson about what happens if you disobey me, Mr. Icarus is going to be your example. Ridley, if you would be so kind..." The Headmaster said.

Finally, the Headmaster's lead torturer stepped out of hiding. Further down the line, someone inhaled sharply at the sight of him.

Unfortunate, while the Headmaster and his goons told them that they were special, that they were the last people alive, the group was horribly mistreated. They were experimented on, tortured, and abused. 

Ridley was the only Caretaker with a name, and he was horrible. An absolute bastard. He seemed to hate Samus the most, but he could hardly be accused of hating any of them less. 

His devilish smile as he walked slowly and menacingly towards the angel boy spoke a thousand words. Pit would be lucky to get away with his life. 

Marth wished that he wasn't right in this situation.

"No! Please! Don't do this!" Pit cried. 

"Quiet!" One of the Caretakers holding him hissed. The word was accompanied by a blow to the back of the angel boy's head.

Ridley drew a long-bladed knife and inspected it. "Should I start with your fingers or your eyes? I can't wait to see your traitorous blood spilled. I think I'll start with your fingers. You can beg for mercy, but you won't get any from me."

The torturer grabbed Pit's left hand and placed the knife at the base of the boy's pointer finger. A single motion, and Pit no longer had a pointer finger. The severed finger fell to the floor with a quiet, sickening thump. Shortly afterwards, Pit's other nine fingers joined it. 

Now that the angel boy was fingerless, Ridley stopped to consider his handiwork. Pit was sobbing, and Marth was sure that the boy would have collapsed if it wasn't for the two Caretakers holding him up. 

Then Ridley exchanged his knife for an oddly shaped device that looked like a combination of a scalpel and a spoon. At the sight of it, Marth felt oddly faint. He knew what was happening next. Ridley was going to gouge the angel boy's eyes out. At the thought of it, Marth felt his stomach churn. 

Pit saw the tool and knew what was going to happen next. "No! I'll do anything, I swear! Please don't do this!"

"What did I tell you about mercy, angel boy?" Ridley snarled. 

Ridley then proceeded to take out Pit's right eye. While he did so, Pit screamed in pain and horror, closing his left eye tight as if he could hide from the horror he was faced with by closing his remaining eye. His right eye came out of its socket with a sickening pop, and Ridley forced Pit to open his other eye. The process was repeated, and Pit was blinded. 

Several of the others looked like they were going to be sick. Zelda looked frighteningly pale, and she was holding onto Sheik's hand like her life depended on it. If her brother was disturbed by the scene, he didn't show it. Sheik's face remained an impassive mask, and Marth wished that he could be that calm. Lucina had buried her face in Robin's shoulder, but a Caretaker forced her to turn around and watch. 

Now that Pit's eyes were gone, he was crying tears of blood. Still, Ridley continued to torture the poor boy. He had the other two Caretakers holding Pit up start beating the boy while he watched. When he was satisfied with their work, Ridley ordered them to stop. 

"And now for the finale..." Ridley said, a sadistic smile fixed on his face.

Pit's hands joined his severed fingers on the floor. Finally, the Caretakers holding him up let go, allowing him to slump to the ground. Pit curled in on himself, shaking and whimpering. The sight sickened Marth, but he forced himself to stay where he was. 

"Now do you see what happens? Consider your prior treatment a kindness. Do not disobey me again. All will be as it should, and I will have order. Do you understand?" The Headmaster said. When no one responded, they repeated their last sentence, shouting it this time. "I SAID, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" 

"Yes, Headmaster." Marth mumbled, his friends following suit. 

"Good. You may go." The Headmaster turned around after waving a hand towards the door in dismissal.

Shocked and sickened, Marth followed the Caretakers out of the room. He was glad to get away from the gory scene in there, and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

It was a quiet walk back to their quarters. When the group reached the familiar hallway where their cells were, the lead Caretaker spoke up.

"Alright. The Headmaster says you'll get the day off. Feel free to visit your friends and whatever the hell that you guys do on free days. Have fun."

With that, the two Caretakers took up their posts guarding the door and left the group as alone as they would ever get.


	3. SHATTERED SPIRITS.

To say the least, Link was discouraged. Which was shocking, considering that his Gift had been named Hero's Courage by the Caretakers.

Sure, it gave him the blood of a hero and all that accompanying jazz. It also granted him the ability to shapeshift into a wolf and unmatched courage.

Considering all of this, the fact that Link was scared was a terrible thing indeed. Link didn't like the feeling of being scared, and it made him mad that he was losing it over seeing some random kid lose some body parts.

Still... Link couldn't shake the feeling that Pit seemed familiar somehow. Which should have been impossible, since Link was four or five years older than Pit looked, and Link's earliest memories (that he could recall) were when he was six.

Eleven years, he'd been here. Link couldn't remember anything beyond waking up in this place, with bruises and cuts all over his body and white coat wearing Caretakers hovering over him.

Since then, he'd met his friends and discovered his Gift. He'd never been scared, and he had certainly never seen Pit Icarus until today.

"What are we going to do now?" Ike asked bluntly. "We can't just do nothing after seeing that!"

Nine heads turned to Marth. Everyone wanted an answer from their infallible leader, Marth Lowell.

Link had been friends with Marth for a long time. And in all their time as friends, he had never seen Marth unsure of what to do next.

Marth always had the answer.

But now, he didn't know what to say.

"Marth?" Lucina whispered. "Marth, say something. Anything. Lie if you have to."

As if remembering where he was, Marth looked up from the floor and cleared his throat. "I don't... I don't know what we're going to do now. I'm sorry, I just... I can't..."

Similar to Link, Marth had the blood of a hero as a result of his Gift. What that meant, the Caretakers had no clue. Marth was also granted control of the element of air, as well as being a natural leader. His Gift was named Hero-King's Breath.

He always knew what to say, and he was the best leader they could ask for. Always sure of himself, always rock steady and calm.

But not now.

A hush fell over the group. Zelda looked like she was about three steps away from a panic attack. It hurt Link to see her like that, and it was an expression he recognized- although he didn't recognize it from her. No, Link had seen that expression on her brother's face more times than he cared to count.

Sheik hadn't always been anxious and quiet, but a year ago that had changed. One day, he came back after being called to the Headmaster's office and refused to speak to anyone, not even Zelda or Corrin. If he wouldn't speak to his sister or his best friend, he wouldn't speak to anyone else either.

And so, Sheik was almost always set on edge by the mere mention of the Headmaster. Nightmares plagued his sleep. He spent every waking minute in a state of constant anxiety. If Link was being honest, he felt bad for him.

It was a shame to see someone so brave fall so far. Darkness seemed to follow Sheik wherever he went, both figuratively and literally- his Gift granted him control of the shadows. It also gave him control of electricity, and the Caretakers had nicknamed it Shadowspark.

"We have to help him." Sheik spoke, his voice barely a whisper. "We have to help Pit."

Zelda took a deep breath and nodded. "Sheik is right."

Now that he had something to focus on, Marth was able to regain some of his former control. "How will we do that? He's in the Headmaster's office, remember? We aren't allowed in there unless we've been summoned."

"I'll force myself to be summoned." Corrin said. Link was surprised that he even spoke up. Normally, Corrin stayed quiet and blended in to the background. The only person he seemed to speak openly around was Sheik. Even Link, as inexperienced as he was in matters of the heart, could tell that Corrin cared about Sheik as a lover would.

Link felt bad for him, really. The Headmaster would never allow two boys to be in a romantic relationship.

Suddenly, Link realized how Corrin would get himself summoned.

"No!" Sheik exclaimed, his voice louder than Link had heard it in a long time. There was a surprising intensity there, too. "I-I won't let you! Surely someone else can do it?"

"I'm sorry, Sheik." Corrin replied forcefully.

"Enough!" Marth shouted. "Nobody is going to sacrifice themselves. There is another way, there has to be another way. Let's all just calm down and think about this."

"No, it's fine. I'm not that scared of the Headmaster." Corrin said.

Which, of course, was a lie. Link could see Corrin shaking slightly. Link could see the fear on the other boy's face. Corrin had never been very brave- he'd always been idealistic and naive, placing his trust in others far too easily. As such, Link had learned what the other boy's Gift was fairly easily.

Corrin's Gift granted him the blood of a hero, similar to both Link and Marth's Gifts. He also possessed the ability to transform into a water dragon. The Caretakers had nicknamed Corrin's Gift Heritor of Dragons. A name that was plenty more badass than the name of Link's Gift, to be sure. He was a little jealous, but at the end of the day it didn't matter.

Nothing really mattered any more, to Link. It was hopeless. Him and his friends were all doomed to a life of tragedy and confinement.

Things had started to blend together to him. It was becoming a world of nothing but grey and sadness.

"Link? Are you okay?" Zelda whispered. She had moved to sit next to him while he had been lost in thought, and was now looking at him with concern in her eyes.

Hesitantly, Link smiled at her. "Yeah. I guess."

Zelda laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "As okay as any of us will ever get, I guess."

"Hey." On an impulse, Link grabbed Zelda's hand. "It'll be okay."

A slight blush colored Zelda's cheeks, and she whispered "You don't need to lie to me. Usually it's me doing the lying to Sheik..."

Link's world had gone grey a long time ago, but whenever he looked at Zelda, he saw a slight ray of hope. He would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't find her attractive- after all, her brother was handsome. Link guessed that the attractive genes ran in the family.

Ah gods, what was he doing? He couldn't fall for either of the Harkinian twins. Hell, he couldn't allow himself to fall for anybody. Love only led to disappointment. He was a warrior. He would fight to protect his friends and their right to love.

But he couldn't allow himself to love. Love was a weakness. Love was a distraction. Love was unnecessary.

No matter what Link tried to tell himself, he still found himself caring about Zelda more than he should. He repressed those feelings, sure, but they were there all the same.

"Yeah, I bet." Link replied. "Have you managed to figure out what happened to him?"

Sadly, Zelda shook her head. "No. He won't say a thing. The only thing that I've figured out is that the Headmaster did something so terrible he still wakes up with nightmares most nights. I thought he was doing better- the past week he hasn't, but now..." She trailed off, unwilling to finish her sentence.

"He'll be okay. It might not look like that now, but he will." Link said. "Sheik is a fighter. He's not going to just roll over and die."

"You haven't seen him after he wakes up from one of those nightmares." Zelda said, a note of finality in her voice.

Link decided to just drop the subject. While the two of them had been talking, the others had continued to squabble.

"Can you all just SHUT UP AND LISTEN?" Marth yelled, finally reaching the end of his patience.

"Sorry Marth." Lucina mumbled.

"I'm not sorry! If you would just pull your head out of your ass and, you know, LEAD, maybe most of us wouldn't be two steps away from a panic attack?" Samus shouted.

An ugly silence fell over the group. Marth was clearly trying to control his temper, and Samus just looked frustrated.

Well, Samus did kind of have a point... if Marth lost it over a little bit of blood, what would happen in the future? How could Marth be a leader if he can't handle pressure?

"You know what, Samus? I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm having a hard time processing the fact that I just saw a kid get tortured within an inch of his life. And I'm sorry that I'm apparently not being a good enough leader. If you'd like to try your hand at my job, please, by all means, go ahead." Marth snapped, clearly at his limit.

Samus hesitated for a moment, suddenly seeming less upset now. "Marth, that's not what I-"

"Save it." Marth snapped. He stood up, seeming like he was going to storm out of the room, but Lucina stood up as well.

"Marth, knock it off! You're better than this!" Lucina said, walking towards her brother and grabbing his arm. She was standing in between him and the door, and Marth didn't look pleased about that.

"Get out of my way, Lucina." Marth growled. He tore his arm out of Lucina's grip, looking furious.

"No." Lucina said. "Please, Samus didn't mean it. Don't walk away like this. Not again..."

Marth froze. "Don't you dare..." He whispered. "Don't you DARE bring that up..." In anger, he started forwards.

He raised his hand. A wind started, centering around Marth and his sister. Lucina gasped once, then raised a hand to her throat as if she was in a dream. A dark look of anger shrouded Marth's features, which frightened Link. Marth never lost his temper like this. He was the calm, levelheaded leader. If anything, Roy was the hotheaded one.

Robin stood up. "Enough!" He shouted, clearly upset. "Can we all just calm down and think this through?"

"There's time for thinking later. Now, I don't fucking care about what anybody else has to say."

With that, Marth dropped his hand and started to walk out again. Lucina staggered, coughing once or twice. Robin was right there to catch her, and he helped her sit down. As the two of them talked quietly, the others sat and watched Marth go.

Marth opened the door. Much to his (and everybody else's) surprise, a Caretaker was standing there.

The Caretaker was holding the angel boy who had been tortured earlier. They tossed the bloody boy into the room, looking dispassionately at Marth as they did so.

"Have fun with him. He'll be dead soon. The little bastard took a poison pill. Fortunately for you, we managed to slow his decay just enough for him to feel agony while he dies." The Caretaker said, their voice totally emotionless.

They turned to leave, then seemed to remember that they had one more thing to say. "Oh, and whatever he tells you is a lie. The poison's already doing its job on his brain. Have fun watching him die."

With those happy words, the door slammed shut. Marth didn't seem to want to leave any more, and he returned to the group.

"I suppose we should be good hosts while he dies." Marth said dryly, which was totally uncharacteristic for him.

Link sighed; this day had been terrible so far and it would likely get worse. However, despite all of that, he still wanted to hear what Pit had to say before the angel boy died. So, Link inched closer.

Pit sat up. In a weak voice, he said "I finally found you..."


	4. ON AN ANGEL'S BROKEN WINGS.

Pit's words sent the group into shock. What could he possibly mean by he had finally found them? Robin frowned. None of this made any sense, even to his augmented intelligence. Thanks to his Gift, Fell Dragon's Blood, he had enhanced intelligence and the blood of an ancient dragon in his veins. Unfortunately for him, his Gift manifested in a pink mark on the back of his hand, like a tattoo. The only other person with a physical mark from their Gift was Lucina. She had a cyan-colored mark in her left eye.

"What do you mean?" Link asked, voicing everybody's thoughts at the moment.

"The leader.. she's been looking for you... for years..." Pit coughed and fell back. Blood spattered Samus's face. She had caught him when he fell back, and she wiped at the crimson staining her face.

"Pit, who's you leader? What do you mean, she's been looking for us?" Link asked, since he seemed to have taken the role of interrogator.

In response, the angel boy merely coughed again. This time, Samus pulled her head away, but Pit raised a hand to block the blood. "I'm dying. Just like mum said I would if I kept up my expeditions." He didn't sound sad, just dazed.

For some reason, Robin's heart ached for the kid.

"How old are you?" Roy asked, speaking up for once.

"Thirteen." Pit wheezed, holding back another cough. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth instead, signaling that the end was surely near. Samus tried her best to prop him him up, in an attempt to ease his pain.

It was in vain. One of Pit's wings fluttered weakly, causing him to wince in pain. This drew Robin's attention to the wings themselves, which looked battered and... broken, now that he looked at them.

Those evil bastards. Pit was just a kid, and yet they had beaten him to the brink of death.

"Pit, can you tell me who your leader is?" Link asked again, this time a little bit of kindness and pity creeping into his voice.

"No. I promised not to tell." Pit said weakly, shaking his head for emphasis. "She made me promise... she'll be here to get you, though."

"Why is she coming to get us?" Link asked, looking just as confused as Robin felt. A quick glance around at the others told him that everybody else was confused as well.

"Can't say... supposed to be a secret..." Pit choked out, spitting up more blood. "Can't risk... them finding out..."

A racking cough shook Pit's small frame, making him double over from his half sitting position. Robin got a better look at Pit's back, and...

Oh, gods. He almost wished he hadn't.

The angel boy's back was a mess of lash marks, which were half covered by the shifting of the bloody, gashed tunic he wore. Pit's left wing was snapped so badly that bone peeked through the bloody skin. Feathers fell from his wings and drifted to the ground.

Instead of being the snow white color that they had been, his feathers were soaked with blood. He laid back down once the coughing fit had passed and turned his head towards Robin, staring sightlessly at him.

"Where's Marth? I have a message..." Pit whispered, voice barely audible.

"I'm here." Marth said. He touched Pit's right hand lightly to guide the blind boy's attention to him.

"Try to remember her.." Pit whispered, blind gaze now focused on Marth. "Miss Talys has been looking for you... for all of you... since that day eleven years ago..."

Marth hesitated for a moment. "I don't know what you're talking about... All of us have been here since we were small."

Roy was quick to back Marth up. "He's right! We can't remember anything from before being brought here."

At this, Pit frowned. "No... that's not right..." the angel boy choked out, looking confused. "That's not what she said would happen!" He looked panicked, although Robin guessed that this was because Pit thought that his death would be for nothing.

"What were you told would happen, Pit?" Marth asked softly.

"You were supposed to remember!" Pit snapped, an expression of rage twisting his features. Almost as quickly as it had come, however, it was gone. "I'm sorry." Pit mumbled weakly.

His next words almost broke Robin's heart, despite the fact that he'd only known Pit for barely thirty minutes.

"I'm sorry, Mother... I should have listened when you told me that this was going to get me killed." Pit wheezed, more blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

"Wait, Pit, don't go yet." Marth said, grabbing the angel boy's wrist. "There's still time, right?"

Weakly, Pit shook his head. "It hurts..." Pit whispered. "I want to go home." He stated plaintively, like a child. Which he was. He was just a kid, after all this. A kid who had been tortured and beaten.

"Okay, Pit. Sleep well." Marth whispered, letting go of Pit's hand.

Pit closed his eyes. One last, shuddering breath wracked the teenager's frame, followed by an exhale.

He didn't breathe again.

Marth reached over and closed Pit's eyes. Then, he stood up and left without a word. After exchanging a worried glance with Robin, Lucina stood up and followed her brother.

The others sat in silence, staring at Pit's corpse.

"Oh my god." Zelda mumbled. She looked like she was going to be sick, and she was holding on to Sheik's upper arm like he could save her. Unlikely, judging by the blank expression on his face.

It was unlike him. Usually, he was ready comfort Zelda, but now... he just looked dead. No matter how anxious the boy was, he always reassured his twin. But not now.

Almost as if he was forcing the words out, Sheik whispered "It'll be okay, Zel. I won't let h-him hurt you."

"I think we should all take a break." Samus said, standing up from her kneeling position and staring down at Pit's lifeless corpse.

"I agree." Robin said, glancing at Pit's body once more. "No more blood must be shed today."

Wordlessly, the others stood and shuffled out of the spare cell. Usually, all of them gathered here to relax, but today... it wouldn't be surprising if a few of them found it hard to enter this room again.

Robin exited the cell and headed in the direction of the one he shared with Ike, who was quite possibly his best friend. The two of them were the brains and the brawn of the group, which was probably why they got along so well.

Ike was close behind Robin, stony faced as usual. "So, Robin. How are you holding up?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.

"I'm okay. And you?" Robin replied, opening the door and holding it for his friend.

"As good as I can be after watching somebody die." Ike said bluntly, nodding his head in gratitude and entering the cell.

After Robin had stepped into the room, he closed the door and moved to sit on the bed against the left hand wall. Well, perhaps "bed" was a generous word. It was more of a cot.

Ike had already laid down, and the blue haired boy was staring up at the ceiling. "You should get some sleep, Robin. Don't overexert yourself."

"Touché." Robin said as he laid down, exhaustion hitting him like a ton of bricks. "Sleep well, Ike." Robin murmured before closing his eyes. Thankfully, he fell asleep quickly- before he could even hear Ike's reply, Robin was asleep.


	5. DOUBTS.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of self harm.

As a general rule, Sheik didn't try to invade Zelda's personal space. Especially when she was more prickly than usual. It was the least he could do- and besides, when she got into one of her moods, she was hard to understand anyways.

Now, though... her silence was unnerving. Especially because Zelda was usually so talkative.

"Zel?" Sheik whispered, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over the two of them. He could see that she was turned away from him at the moment, and Sheik sighed inwardly.

It was a few minutes before Zelda responded, and she sounded like she was crying.

"We watched him die." Zelda whispered back, holding back a sob. "We all watched a kid die, and we didn't do anything about it."

"I know."

Zelda rolled over to face him now. "How can you be so calm about this?" She whispered, her voice breaking as she spoke.

How could he be so calm about this? Sheik wasn't sure. Maybe it was because he'd seen worse, in his dreams.

Yes, his dreams. How many times had he watched Corrin or Zelda die in his dreams? How many times had he watched the Headmaster brutally torture his best friend to death, while Sheik watched in horror, unable to do anything to stop it?

How many times had he seen the light leave someone's eyes, as they exhaled for the last time and their body stilled, never to move again?

"You know why." Sheik mumbled.

Zelda was silent for another moment. The only sound was her faint sniffles as she tried to calm herself down. Sheik's hands were shaking, as the mere memory of what confronted him most nights was enough to turn him into a quivering mess.

"Gods, Sheik, we're both a mess." Zelda laughed, but it was a broken sound, which was a sharp contrast from her usual happy laugh.

"I'm the only one allowed to be falling apart here." Sheik attempted to joke, but it fell flat.

"You're not allowed to joke about it. You know how I feel about your jokes." Zelda scolded. 

Sheik sighed. It was true, he usually joked about his nightmares when he was feeling horrible, just to hide the pain. Smile, and nobody would think twice. Not that anybody spared him a second thought, anyways. He didn't deserve it. 

"Sorry." Sheik mumbled in response. "Zelda, at least talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"

It was a familiar question, of course. Usually, Sheik was on the receiving end of it. Most times, he refused to say anything beyond "I had another nightmare and it was fucking terrifying."

"I just can't get over the fact that the Headmaster and Ridley killed Pit like that." Zelda whispered. Naturally, she was more likely to talk than Sheik was, since she was a very emotional person. Well, compared to her twin, she was emotional. 

"They said he took a poison pill, rather than give up whatever information he was carrying." Sheik pointed out. 

"Same difference." Zelda said dismissively. "They still drove him to the point of taking his own life."

Her next words chilled Sheik to the bone, as they were so out of character for her.

"I'll kill them. I swear I'll kill them for what they've done. They hurt you, they hurt my friends, they murdered a little boy. Those monsters deserve to die." Zelda whispered, her voice rising in volume and intensity as she went on. 

It honestly broke his heart. Zelda wasn't supposed to be vengeful and angry. He would shoulder that burden for her. He didn't want to see her start down the same path he had. 

"Zelda..."

"They have to _die._ " Zelda's voice shook as she spoke, and a sob escaped her lips despite her best efforts to suppress it. 

Sheik wasn't usually one for physical affection, but he felt it was probably warranted in this situation. He sat up and slid off his cot, walking across the room and kneeling next to his twin.

"Zelda, look at me." Sheik said softly, trying to sound as reassuring as he could. 

Reluctantly, she met his gaze. 

"I'm sorry. Please don't bloody your hands for me. We both know I don't really deserve it, yeah?" Sheik said, covering Zelda's hands with his. 

"You're my brother, Sheik. Of course you're worth it." Zelda replied, taking a deep breath. 

He took a moment to consider this, since he'd heard a version of that several times before. Finally, he smiled wryly and moved to sit next to her. "Zelda, there's no saving someone like me. You know that. No amount of blood is going to fix what's been broken inside me."

Zelda threw her arms around him in a hug, which took him rather off guard. "Stop it! You're not past the point of no return yet! I'll- I swear I'll find a way to fix this!"

"I don't think there's anything you can do now, Zel." Sheik whispered, hugging her back. Granted, it felt a little awkward for him, but he was trying. 

././.

Eventually, Sheik and Zelda must have fallen asleep. When he woke up, his back ached from sleeping in a sitting position. He stood up carefully, trying not to wake his twin. Surprisingly, he hadn't had any nightmares. 

Of course, as soon as he thought about that, a flash of what he usually saw at night confronted him. 

An image of Corrin's body, bloodied and broken, held in Sheik's arms as the light left the silver haired boy's red eyes. 

The sound of Zelda's scream as a whip came down against her back.

Sheik's breath caught in his throat, and he fought the urge to cry out. As it was, he stumbled over to his cot and sat down. 

"No... no, no, no..." Sheik found himself whimpering softly as the images played in his head over and over again. 

Over, and over, and over again. They never stopped once they started. 

Not unless Sheik pressed his nail to the inside of his wrist and pressed as hard as he could. The pain cleared his head, which was exactly what the Headmaster had planned when _it_ happened. 

Only pain would break the vicious cycle Sheik found himself trapped in. 

So, almost without thinking, he did exactly what he could in that situation. After all, if he didn't have access to a blade, he'd have to make do. 

Zelda wasn't awake yet. Sheik traced lines in his skin, just to clear his head. Just so he didn't have to listen to their phantom screams that still tortured him. 

He wasn't sure how long it was until the wake-up call sounded. Well, it was more of a Caretaker banging on the doors and screaming at the Gifted to wake up. 

Everybody seemed kind of in a daze. Marth looked like he'd hardly slept at all, and Lucina was subtly clinging onto Robin's hand like a lifeline. While the Headmaster discouraged relationships, as long as it was between a boy and a girl, they didn't care.

If it was two boys, or two girls, however...

Well, it wasn't pleasant. 

And Sheik didn't want to think about the consequences.

_Because he already knew them._

Samus looked dead inside, like usual. Robin was pale and doing his best to stay strong for Lucina. Ike looked tired, which was also pretty normal. Link and Roy were talking quietly, and they looked mostly unaffected.

Corrin... Well, Sheik's gaze kind of skipped over Corrin. He didn't want to think about the state of his best friend right now, because then he'd worry and then he'd feel that annoying little tug in his chest.

Goddesses above, why couldn't he just stop feeling? 

That was all he could think as he entered the meal room. 

_Why did feeling have to be so hard?_


	6. A TEST OF LOYALTY.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Gory descriptions of multiple wounds.

Breakfast was a subdued affair. Hardly anybody spoke. Corrin noticed how Sheik seemed out of it, like most mornings now. He could still remember the mornings that Sheik would come to breakfast with so much energy and a smile on his face.

Corrin missed those mornings. His heart ached when he saw how sad Sheik looked all the time. Those mornings had been some of the best moments of his life that he could actually remember. He knew that he had other memories that had been locked away somehow. And yet his thoughts always seemed to be occupied by his best friend.

If he was being honest, he knew that the way he felt when he thought about Sheik wasn't exactly how you were supposed to feel about your best friend.

It hurt to think about, because Corrin didn't want to ruin the one good thing in his life. He didn't want to place unnecessary burdens on Sheik, because the guy had enough going on already.

That day Sheik came to breakfast looking like he'd been beaten almost to the brink of death and like he hadn't slept at all, Corrin had been the first one (besides Zelda, of course) to just sit next to him and offer his support quietly.

He still remembered that day vividly, like it had happened yesterday.

././.

_He was late. Sheik was late to breakfast, and he was never late. Hell, the Caretakers never let anyone be late. But now?_

__

_He was late, and Corrin was worried._

__

_Still, Corrin couldn't have been prepared for what happened next._

__

_Almost as if his worried thoughts had summoned him, Sheik appeared in the doorway._

__

_But he wasn't standing on his own. Zelda was holding him up, helping him stand. Slowly, leaning heavily on his twin, Sheik limped into the breakfast room._

__

_The lights didn't help him at all. Instead, it only revealed the extent of the injuries that Sheik had. His face was a patchwork of bruises, and one of his eyes was swollen shut with an impressive black eye that almost blended in with the other bruises on his face._

__

_If previous experience was anything to go by, those bruises probably decorated his whole body._

__

_And the reason Sheik was limping? His right ankle looked like it had been smashed by a hammer. His foot hung limply from his leg, unable to support his weight. As Zelda helped him sit down at their usual table, he winced but didn't say anything._

__

_Corrin could see bandages wrapped around Sheik's chest, likely meaning he had whip marks on his back. Corrin knew from experience that whip lashes stung while you got them, and they hurt more the next day. Whip marks ached until they healed, and by that time you'd likely have received fresh lashes._

__

_It was a sad truth, but the kids were whipped often. But this was something else... Sheik had obviously been beaten badly, but what could he have done to deserve such a beating?_

__

_That thought was possibly more disturbing than anything else. Sheik didn't speak for the rest of breakfast, and he picked disconsolately at his food, pushing it around his plate with a sullen look on his face._

__

_Which was a far cry from his usual cheerful optimism._

__

_Later that day, the kids had a sparring session. Sheik was forced to participate, even though he couldn't stand without help._

__

_After trying, he collapsed to the floor, trying so hard to suppress his cries of pain. Still, little whimpers escaped his lips, and he held his ankle as best he could without aggravating it further._

__

_A Caretaker came over to him and kicked him in the ribs, yelling at him to get on his feet._

__

_He shook his head, saying that he couldn't. That it hurt too much. Finally, the Headmaster was called in._

__

_Sheik curled into a ball on the ground, hiding his face and vital organs as soon as he heard the Headmaster's harsh voice. When he still didn't get up, the Headmaster started kicking him._

__

_"On your feet, you worthless little bastard! I said, on your feet!"_

__

_"I can't! I can't stand!"_

__

_The sound of his voice as he begged the Headmaster to stop kicking him made Corrin's heart ache._

__

_"Stop it! Can't you see that he's hurt enough already?" Zelda cried, looking like she was on the verge of tears. Poor, empathetic Zelda. She always felt so much._

__

_"Silence!" The Headmaster yelled, motioning for one of the Caretakers to hit her. Link stepped in, taking the blow for her._

__

_"You won't hurt her, too!" Link shouted defiantly._

__

_"Leave them. Get this thing on his feet." The Headmaster snapped, gesturing down at Sheik._

__

_"I-I can't stand!" Sheik protested weakly. "My foot, it's-"_

__

_"Silence, you bastard." The Headmaster emphasized their words with another kick to the ribs._

__

_Finally, Corrin found his voice. Anger, unlike anything he'd ever felt before, bubbled up inside him. "Leave him alone! You've done enough!" Corrin shouted._

__

_The Headmaster turned to face him, no doubt smiling under their mask. "Oh? And what are you going to do to stop me?"_

__

_He was powerless against the Headmaster, and he knew it._

__

././.

The memory would sometimes keep him up at night, thinking about what he could have done. What he should have done. 

Of course, he was torturing himself by doing this. Thinking about what could have been, and what had happened...

But he couldn't help it. How many nights had he laid in bed, listening to Roy's soft snores, trying to sleep, but being unable to stop thinking for a moment?

Too many. 

Of course, Corrin was well aware that he had no right to complain- he'd seen the evidence of sleepless nights in the others far more often than he had felt it in himself. 

Corrin had been lucky. He hadn't been tortured as badly as some of his friends had. But he couldn't help feeling like something had been changed inside of him. Like he'd become someone other than who he used to be. 

As he got older, he began realizing just how wrong he and his friends were being treated. But they didn't know any better. 

After all, the Headmaster had said that they were the last kids on the planet. That their parents had been killed. That they were special. That if they were discovered by the greedy bad guys, who lived with horrible mutations because of the genetic weapons that their parents and grandparents had used, the consequences would be horrifying.

And yet, they were beaten if they dared step out of line. They were experimented on and abused, all for the sake of the "future." 

"You don't know what's good for you. Trust me, the outside world is much scarier than it is in here. You're plenty safe."

Lies.

It had to be lies.

How could anything be worse than this? How could the outside world be scarier if the kids were trapped in a facility with a monster and his gang of evil minions? 

Corrin looked up from his plate and across the table to his best friend.

"How are you doing?" Corrin asked gently.

"Fine." Sheik mumbled. Which, of course, was another lie. Corrin knew Sheik wasn't fine. Could any of the kids actually be fine? He doubted it.

Zelda glanced over at her brother, then to Corrin. She looked like she hadn't slept well either, but she still tried to smile when she met Corrin's gaze. "He's been better, obviously. But I don't think he had any nightmares last night." Zelda said, although she didn't sound like she believed herself. 

If Sheik had anything to say about that, he didn't speak up. 

"It would be a miracle if he didn't." Corrin responded, sighing. "After that... well, I had a hard time sleeping. If I had a hard time..." He didn't bother finishing that thought. The unspoken words hung in the air, weighing down the mood at the table even further.

_If I had a hard time, then it's highly unlikely that Sheik managed to get through the night without a nightmare. He hardly sleeps as it is._

"I wish you guys wouldn't talk about me like I'm not there when I'm sitting right next to you." Sheik said pointedly. 

"Of course. Sorry." Zelda nodded apologetically. 

"It's fine. Just please try not to do it again." Sheik replied. 

Corrin would have responded, but a Caretaker rang the bell that meant breakfast was ending. 

Wonderful. Now it was time for the first activity of the day: sparring. 

No matter what day of the week it was (and it's not like the kids had any way to keep track of the date, anyways), sparring practice was right after breakfast. This usually meant that there was a fair bit of quiet groaning as sore muscles were stretched in warm ups, and several accidents that resulted in injury. Not that the Caretakers cared that injuries happened. 

"Partner up while you walk to the sparring room, brats. We don't want to waste any time, now do we? Today we're practicing swordsmanship. There will be practice swords available. No padding. Do your best not to get hit." The Caretaker who had rung the bell said, although they sounded bored as they rattled off the same speech they said every day. 

Zelda stood up and practically tripped over herself in her attempt to get to Link. Obviously she was going to try and partner with him, but it was too late. It seemed like he'd already agreed to spar with Marth today, so Zelda went over to Lucina instead. Robin and Ike were already partners, like usual. Samus and Roy were left, and since neither of them wanted to practice with Corrin or Sheik, that left them with each other.

Naturally, Sheik had stood up and moved to Corrin's side. "Partners?" Sheik asked, just for confirmation.

"Of course." Corrin responded with a small smile.

For a moment, Sheik smiled back, but it quickly died. But at least it was a smile, even if it was for a second. 

The walk to the sparring room was quick and uneventful, thankfully.

However, the Headmaster was standing inside the room, their arms crossed and a threatening aura around them. 

"You're going to be tested today."

A hush fell over the group, halting any conversations they might have been having.

A test? Today? It made sense, but _why?_

"What's our test, then?" Marth asked, stepping up as the leader. 

"Oh, still sparring practice, but you'll be asked to spar against a disloyal Caretaker of mine. A series of matches against this Caretaker will happen, and the victor will be asked to kill them." The Headmaster said, laughing cruelly as they finished speaking. "Now, who wants to go first? Participation is mandatory, and I expect you to go all out."

Predictably, Samus stepped up first. A couple of Caretakers dragged out a woman wearing the white uniform of a Caretaker, but no mask. The woman's red hair was cut short, and she looked pissed off. 

"Damn you all!" She snarled, kicking against the grip of her captors. "Damn you all to the depths of whatever hell you believe in!"

Samus hardly gave her time to be released from her captor's grip, running at her with hands balled into fists. 

However, she was clearly stronger than she looked. A slight movement, and she dodged Samus's hits. Once she felt that she'd toyed with Samus enough, two punches to the face and she'd knocked Samus flat on her back.

The other fights proceeded in a similar fashon- Ike, Zelda, Link, Robin, Roy, and Corrin himself were all taken down fairly quickly. Sheik lasted a little bit longer- he managed to land three hits on her, but was ultimately taken out. Marth pushed Lucina up, since he didn't want her to face the guilt of killing somebody.

Which was when the test deviated from prior events.

"Lucina? By gods, it must be you! And Marth! I'll be damned. You've both grown so much since I last saw you." The woman exclaimed, confusion settling across her features. 

"I-I'm sorry, who are you?" Lucina asked, clearly unsettled by this new piece of information.

"Sully! Ya know, your dad's best friend? Well, besides your mum. I used to screw around with you two all the time! You were only three, but you sure did know how to get in trouble." The woman- or rather, Sully- said with a grin. 

Lucina shook her head regretfully. 

"Silence!" The Headmaster yelled. 

"Well, kiddo, I hate to do this to you, but..." Sully never finished her sentence, as Lucina dashed at her and used her shoulder to drive Sully to the ground. 

"You're lying! You're lying! You're lying!" Lucina choked out as she beat Sully up, looking like she was hurting herself while she beat the red haired woman up. "I don't know anything else! I'm- I'm sorry!"

Eventually, Marth dragged Lucina off of her. 

"So... this is how it ends." Sully coughed, spitting blood to the side. "Damn, you really did a number on me. I wish I could tell your father how strong you've become. You'll just have to tell him yourselves, okay?" With that, Sully pressed something on the inside of her wrist, then took out a small, purple pill.

She locked her eyes on the Headmaster, then said "We're coming for you, bastard." Then, she popped the pill in her mouth. 

"Stop her!" The Headmaster roared, but it was no use. Her poison pill must have been more potent than Pit's, since by the time the Caretakers reached her, she was dead.


	7. THESE BONDS.

After witnessing Lucina beat someone almost to death, Ike wasn't sure how the others were going to make it through another day of torture. 

Gods. This hell would never end, would it? Ike could see no end in sight. Granted, he wasn't really the thinker. He was the brawn to Robin's brain, the muscles behind his Robin's schemes. 

That's all he was. Most of the time, he was overlooked. Overshadowed. Only needed when his strength would come in handy. Otherwise, he was pushed to the side.

Forgotten. He hadn't tried to make friends, outside of Samus and Robin. Ike was okay with just one or two close friends. 

Still, he did worry about the others. In some way, he was friends with them. 

Oftentimes, Samus would tell him "Ike, I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the rock of the group, you know? I think you really help keep us together. You and Marth both keep the rest of us in check."

Which he supposed was true. The silent rock, keeping everybody grounded. 

Ike had talked to everybody else at least three times. 

Lucina confided in him.

Robin trusted him with his life. 

Marth confided in him as well, and seemed content to share some of his burdens as leader with him. 

Sheik used to joke around with him, but he had long since stopped doing that. Sometimes, Ike would stop by to check on him, which Sheik seemed to appreciate once in a while. 

Zelda thought of him like an older brother, and respected him as such. 

Corrin was an all around nice guy, although he had become a bit more closed off as the years went by. 

Samus was his closest friend, besides Robin, and he had found his thoughts returning to her more often than not lately. 

Link was harder to talk to, but still a good guy. Ike usually sparred with him, since they had a similar ability level. Link would talk with him briefly afterwards, but that was it.

Roy was definetly the hardest to talk to. The guy seemed like he was trying to keep his distance from everybody except Marth, and despite Ike's best efforts, it was like trying to talk to a stone cold wall. 

Quietly, Ike had his suspicions that if worst came to worst, Roy would be the worst person to have on your side. Things seemed like they were reaching a tipping point, and Ike hoped that Roy would come around.

Even if the red-haired boy didn't realize it, Ike could see that Marth depended on his support in several ways. 

Complicating matters further was the fact that two people had died within two days, and they both seemed like they hadn't been inside the facility for that long. 

Was it possible that the Headmaster was wrong? Was it possible that there was life outside of the facility?

Ike shook his head to clear it. No, he must be going crazy. There was no way the Headmaster was lying to them.

Right?

Right.

While he'd been lost in thought, the others had been quietly discussing the events of the past couple of days. Robin and Marth were trying to comfort Lucina, who was on the verge of a breakdown. The poor girl had just kind of lost it on Sully, and had basically killed her. Lucina hadn't had the most stable mental health before that, like any of the other kids, but now...

It would be a wonder if she didn't lose it completely. Ike would do his best to keep her somewhat sane, along with Marth and Robin, since he'd hate to see her go completely insane. 

"Ike? Are you okay?" Samus asked, sitting down beside him. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ike replied, grinning halfheartedly at her. "How are you?"

"Eh. I've been better." Samus said with a shrug. "Anyways. I just wanted to come see how you're holding up. The last few days have been kind of crazy, you know? I'd hate to see my best friend feeling a bit overwhelmed because of it."

"I appreciate it, Sam." Ike's smile became a little wider, as he was touched by the gesture. Not many people would actually check in on him like that, and it felt nice to be appreciated for once.

"No problem!" Samus laughed and clapped Ike on the shoulder. She always had been quick to shrug off traumatic events, although Ike suspected it was just because she wanted to keep up her 'tough girl' exterior. 

After a moment of hesitation while he thought of something else to say, something in the corner caught Ike's eye. "Hey, Samus, check it out." He said and gestured to Link and Zelda, who were not so subtly holding hands in the opposite corner. 

Although she might not look like it, Samus had quite the romantic side (at least when it came to her friends getting in relationships). Once she saw the two, she grinned. "Oh, I knew those two had feelings for each other! I can't wait to tell Link 'I told you so!'" 

"Do you want to go burst their bubble, or should I do it?" Ike asked.

"No, let the lovebirds have their moment." Samus said, frowning slightly.

"I hope the Headmaster doesn't walk in here and see it, then. You know how they get when they see unsanctioned romance." Ike pointed out gently. 

In response, Samus stuck her tongue out at Ike. "You're no fun."

"I'm just being realistic, Sam." Ike said.

"Lame." Samus said, sighing and leaning her head on Ike's shoulder. "I'm really tired."

Luckily for him, Ike was mostly able to ignore the little skip of his heart when she leaned on him. They were just friends, and nothing more. Besides, Samus was a strong girl. Ike knew that. He also knew that she wasn't interested in romance for herself. "Then go to sleep."

"Okay. Good night, Ike." Samus yawned, closing her eyes as she did so. 

"Sleep well, Samus." Ike whispered, brushing a bit of hair out of her face. He dropped his hand after a minute, as he didn't want to disturb her, but he couldn't help but think about how nice it would be to take a nap with her. 

Even he needed a bit of a distraction from this living hell, too.


	8. IN THE SILENCE.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This whole chapter deals with self harm and the effect depression/PTSD has on people around the sufferer, as well as mentions of suicide.

Technically, Zelda was the younger twin, and yet she found herself taking on more and more responsibilities as Sheik's mental state deteriorated.

She was hiding just how bad he was from the others, because if they knew, Zelda was certain that they'd give up on him.

Sheik thought he was being sneaky with some of the things he did, but Zelda wasn't that stupid. A few nights ago, after the angel boy had died, Zelda knew that he'd tried his hardest to cut himself. It wasn't the first time that he'd done that. She was actually grateful towards the Headmaster, since they didn't allow weapons or sharp objects in the cells. Otherwise...

Well, Zelda knew what he would have done by now. It wasn't a nice thought, and almost every time she saw him after one of his nightmares, it showed up again.

_Suicide. The act of taking one's life._

Zelda had to admit, sometimes dying sounded preferable to waking up in the morning, just to face this hell. She'd considered ways to kill herself, but had never actually gone through with it.

Her twin, on the other hand... If he was given an actual dagger, Zelda had no doubt that he'd just stab himself with it.

She wanted to help, but didn't know how. How could you reach someone who was suffering, but couldn't seem to find it in themselves to reach out and ask for help?

It hurt her heart to see him suffer like this. That day... She had a feeling why he'd been beaten so badly, but she wouldn't dare ask him. Zelda would wait until he felt ready to tell her, and if that day never came, and Sheik took those secrets to an early grave...

Enough. She couldn't dwell on those thoughts that threatened to drag her down into the spiral of negativity.

But it was so easy to just let herself spiral down, down, down...

Gods, she really was useless, wasn't she? Only good for worrying too much and nothing else.

Seeing everybody else be beaten down as time went on only served to deepen her self-hatred. Why wasn't she good enough? Why couldn't she do more when the Caretakers or the Headmaster ordered her friends to do harsh things? Why couldn't she find it in herself to intervene when her friends were beaten in front of her?

Why was she such a worthless coward?

Zelda hadn't realized that Sheik had entered the room until she felt his hand on her back.

"Zel? A-are you okay?" Sheik whispered.

"Fine." Zelda answered quickly. Too quickly. How familiar was that answer? So familiar. So goddamned familiar.

"Zelda, please. I can't- I won't hear you say you're fine!" Sheik said. Where had he been, anyway? She didn't know, and didn't really care. As long as he wasn't getting beaten, she was fine with him roaming around.

"Trust me, I'm fine." Zelda lied.

A hush fell over the cell. "You're lying." Sheik finally said, sitting down next to her. "I know I'm not good at talking about my emotions, but... I don't want to see you suffer like I have. I want your life to be happy, Zelda. You deserve it."

"You deserve it just as much as I do, Sheik! You're my brother, I want to see you happy again!" Zelda exclaimed, sitting up and facing him.

"You think I'm not fucking trying?" Sheik said back, raising his voice just a bit. "You think I don't know that it hurts you, too? I'm sorry, Zelda, but I can't help it!"

Now she felt bad. What the fuck? Why couldn't she do this right? Gods, she was an idiot.

"I just miss the days you used to smile and laugh. I miss the days where you seemed happy to get up in the morning." Zelda whispered, ashamed to admit it.

"I miss those days too, Zel. But..." Sheik took a deep breath, then seemed to rethink what he was going to say. "Even if I could go back, I'm not sure that I would change why _it_ happened."

That was actually a surprise. He never said anything about what had happened. Was he actually going to-

Nope, no way.

After all, there was a kind of unspoken rule among the kids- if someone suspected that someone was different from the expectations of the Headmaster, you weren't supposed to ask. And you didn't say anything about it yourself, either.

Zelda had long suspected that something else was up with her brother, but she didn't dare ask. She didn't want to risk anything worse happening to him.

"You're getting sentimental now?" Zelda tried to laugh, which ended up sounding more like she was choking.

Sheik smiled a little, which was odd to see these days. "Yeah. I'm not kidding, though. Someday, I hope I'll be able to tell you..."

Zelda nodded. "When we're safe."

"When we're safe." Sheik confirmed, which was something the two of them said often.

It was kind of dumb, if Zelda was being honest with herself. They'd likely never be safe. Not as long as the Headmaster lived, and the kids were imprisoned. Even if the real world wasn't inhabited anymore, and the air was poisonous to breathe...

Even that would be preferable to living with a monster just waiting for an excuse to kill someone. 

Sure, the Headmaster said that the kids were invaluable, but Zelda was beginning to think that was a lie.

After all, when it came down to it, Zelda knew that the Headmaster wouldn't hesitate to slit the throat of any who opposed their goal. What that goal might be was a mystery, but the point remained.

Silence filled the room. Zelda didn't even know how to talk to her own brother anymore. She didn't know what was too much, or what would set him off, or what was just wrong. It felt like she was watching Sheik suffer while he was trapped in a glass cage, and she couldn't find the strength to shatter that glass.

Why was she so fucking weak?

Why couldn't she just help him?

"Zelda. Look at me." Sheik said, breaking the silence.

Reluctantly, she did as she was told.

"Stop. Whatever you're thinking... it's not good, I can tell. Maybe you need to get out of here for a little while, huh?" Sheik whispered. "I took a walk earlier. That might help you."

"Okay." Zelda nodded. If nothing else, maybe she could go talk to Link. He was quiet, but he was easier to talk to than her brother was now.

So, she stood up and walked out of the cell. Hopefully her twin didn't do anything stupid while she was gone.

Zelda wasn't sure where she was going, but she found herself standing outside Link's door. He had a cell to himself, as the Headmaster said that putting non-related boys and girls in a room together to sleep led to some funny business, and that he didn't want the gene pool to be corrupted. Whatever that meant.

She was about to knock when Link opened the door, _without a shirt on._

"Link, I, uh, why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Zelda squeaked, looking anywhere but at Link.

"I thought you were Marth! He usually stands outside the door without knocking if he needs something! I'm so sorry." Link exclaimed, looking mortified. His shirt was in his left hand, and he quickly pulled it on. "Anyways. How's your day going?"

"Okay." Zelda said. She didn't want to say fine, because that would raise questions, and she couldn't say good because that's a lie.

"You don't sound like your day has been okay." Link pointed out. How was he so perceptive?

"Eh." Zelda shrugged.

"Do you want to... talk about it?" Link asked, looking at her with a faintly confused expression.

"Not really." Zelda said, which was a lie. Damn it, she was trying to stop lying to him.

"Liar." Link said flatly. "Here, why don't you sit down in here and we can talk about it?"

Sighing, Zelda complied. She had to seem a bit reluctant, since she didn't want to come off as too eager to be alone with him.

Link closed the door quietly, then turned to face her. "So. What's going on?"

"I can't even talk to my own brother anymore." Zelda said, speaking before her thoughts could catch up.

The blond boy frowned, then opened his mouth like he was going to speak. He seemed to reconsider what he was about to say at the last second, and closed his mouth. After a little more silence, he finally decided on what to say. "I'm sure it's harder to talk to him, but you're his sister. You're Zelda. Not even he can be sad around you."

"That's not what I meant." Zelda whispered.

"Then what did you mean?" Link asked patiently.

"I just... I feel like I can't say anything right anymore. I feel like no matter what I say or do, he just withdraws within his own head again. I feel like a failure because I can't even help him get over it and hopefully begin to heal!" Zelda exclaimed. "I feel weak and useless because all I do is wrong or not enough! I fucking hate how powerless I am!"

Link blinked in surprise, then hesitantly reached across and took her hand. "I had no idea it was so bad, Zel. I knew that Sheik's situation isn't exactly doing any wonders for your mental health, but..." he trailed off, unwilling to finish his thought.

Holding Link's hand felt nice. She kind of wanted to hug him, but they were just friends and people who were just friends didn't really do that. But she'd always been a very physically affectionate person, a fact which used to annoy Sheik to no end. Now, he just didn't care.

"Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" Link asked, looking concerned.

"A hug would be nice." Zelda mumbled, looking down and basically refusing to make eye contact with him.

Link sighed. "I'm not really a hug kind of guy. But yeah, I can give you a hug if you want."

"Thank you." Zelda whispered sheepishly, feeling herself blush. And she wasn't even hugging him yet! What was wrong with her? He was her friend.

Zelda felt Link shift closer to her, then his arms wrapped around her. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. It was kind of a creepy thing to think, but the first thought that crossed her mind was that Link smelled nice.

"Feel better?" Link asked quietly.

In response, Zelda merely nodded.

He could have let go right away, but it took him a minute to actually let go. Once he had moved back to his original position, Link smiled at her. "Remember, I'm sure Sheik appreciates you for at least trying to help him. You're nowhere near useless. I know it doesn't take a few kind words to make it go away, but I'll do my best to help you realize just how important you are to your brother and the rest of us."

Zelda felt herself tearing up, since she wasn't really used to hearing such kind words. "Thank you, Link. You're the best friend I could ever ask for."

"Touché, Zelda." Link grinned at her, although it felt a little hollow.

She was supposed to be happy, but all she could feel was regret. Those words seemed false somehow, and the thought scared Zelda. The implications of that... well, she didn't want to think about what that could mean.

For now, she just wanted to spend time with her friend without her stupid brain getting in the way.


	9. SEEDS OF REBELLION.

Samus was sick of this. The suspense, the tension, the beatings. Why couldn't it all just stop? 

She was about ready to get the fuck out of here, no matter what the consequences were. She had a Gift, so why not use it?

Oh, right. They had to wear little bracelets around their wrists that nullified any offensive tools their Gifts potentially gave them. For instance, Samus' Gift, Explosives Expert, gave her the ability to basically blow things up by touching them. She was working on controlling it, but only in a controlled environment. 

Either way, when she wasn't in that controlled environment, she couldn't use her Gift. So, she was stuck here with no way out. 

It was so fucking dumb. 

"Ike?" Samus asked, pushing her empty plate away. Today's lunch had been bland rice and tasteless chicken, but she'd eaten it anyway. If she was going to try and break out, even with the odds stacked heavily against her, she'd need to keep her strength up. 

"Samus?" Ike responded. He was still eating, but didn't have that much food left on his plate. 

"What do you think is up with Pit and Sully? Clearly they were connected somehow." Samus was tempted to steal some of Ike's food, but she knew he didn't like that very much so she didn't steal anything. 

"I'm not quite sure." Ike said thoughtfully. "I know that Robin's been trying to figure that out. He's been staying up late recently. He does that when there's a problem he's trying to solve." 

Samus nodded. "He's kind of got a lot to deal with right now, doesn't he? I mean, there's Lucina, and now this..."

"Robin will be fine. He mentioned that Lucina has been a little bit better the past two days, but she's still far from feeling okay. And as for Robin's mental health, he's smart. He will speak up if he needs help."

"Okay." Samus said, taking a deep breath.

"Is something else bothering you, Sam?" Ike asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah." Samus admitted. Before she responded, her voice dropped until it was barely audible because if what she was about to say was overheard... well, that would be bad. Really bad. "Do you think it's possible to escape?"

Ike's eyes widened. He looked around cautiously, since this was a touchy topic. You didn't just openly discuss _escape_ like that. It was practically taboo. "It's possible, but..."

"Go on."

"As Robin would say, the chances of escape are next to none." Ike sighed. "Look, Samus, I don't know if escape is a good idea. Without outside assistance, you'll never make it. And if what the Headmaster says is true, we won't be getting any of that."

"Have you considered that they're wrong, though? What if the Headmaster is wrong? I mean, they have to get their Caretakers from somewhere, right? What about Pit? He was supposedly seperated from us, but there aren't any other people here besides us and the Caretakers." Samus exclaimed, although it was a pretty quiet exclamation. 

Ike quickly shushed her, although he looked like he was considering Samus' points. "I'll mention it to Robin. He's probably got some educated guesses for you."

"Thank you." Samus said and smiled at him. 

Almost as if Ike's words had summoned him, Robin sat down at the table with a loud exclamation of "I'm fucking done with the Headmaster and their goons!"

"SHH!" Ike and Samus exclaimed at the same time. 

"Sorry!" Robin said, glancing around once. Luckily for him (and his health) there didn't seem to be any Caretakers around that could have heard his outburst. 

"What happened?" Ike asked.

"I looked at one of my papers while I was talking with Lucina and Marth. A Caretaker came up behind me and took it away, then proceeded to rip it to shreds while I watched!" Robin huffed, looking upset. Clearly those papers he'd mentioned were important to him, although Samus had never heard of them. Granted, Samus wasn't as good at finding out things she wasn't supposed to- that used to be Sheik's job. He had a knack for that kind of thing, but he hadn't gotten into much trouble since the incident. 

"Which one was it?" Ike asked. He must have known about Robin's papers, since the two boys were roommates. 

"My notes on what Pit and Sully had mentioned! That was probably my most important one at the moment, and of course I had to lose that one!" Robin responded heatedly. 

"I'm sorry, man. Do you have a backup copy?" Ike reached across the table and patted Robin's head, almost like the white haired boy was a cat or something. 

"No! I hadn't copied that one yet! Now I have to start all over and it fucking sucks!" Robin basically yelled, followed by a frantic shushing from Ike and Samus.

Obviously Robin's papers were really important to him. Note to self: Don't touch Robin's mysterious papers.

Since she had no idea how she could contribute to this conversation besides shushing Robin when he got too loud, Samus was considering just getting up to leave when Ike mentioned her name. She hadn't really been paying attention to their conversation after shushing Robin previously, but hearing someone say your name kind of forces you to pay attention. 

"-Samus was just wondering about the possibility of Priority A." Ike said, acting like saying a code name in normal speech, _out loud_ , was totally normal. 

"Really?" Robin mused, ripped paper seemingly forgotten. 

"What's Priority A?" Samus asked, although she had a feeling she knew what it was. 

"We were talking about it before Robin sat down here." Ike explained.

"Oh yeah." Samus said. 

Robin merely looked at her like he was analyzing her body language, trying to deduce what she was thinking about. For some reason, the way he looked at her kind of creeped her out. Something behind his eyes just seemed... off. The moment passed quickly, and soon Robin was back to normal, no hint of whatever had been in his gaze previously. 

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor distracted Samus, making her forget whatever she was about to say. The noise happened again, and Samus looked around the room to spot the cause of the commotion. 

Ah, there it was. Marth and Roy were both standing, and suddenly a shout cut through the silence that had settled over the room.

"All I'm saying is that maybe the Headmaster isn't as bad as you think they are!" Roy shouted.

"What the fuck are you trying to say, Roy?" Marth shouted back. "They've killed people in front of us and beaten the shit out of our friends for seemingly no reason whatsoever!" 

"You heard me!" 

"You're a traitor, if that's what you mean!" Marth genuinely sounded furious. He never yelled like this. Maybe Roy had said something rude to Lucina?

Roy's next words chilled Samus to the bone. Judging by the reactions of both Ike and Robin, they were both just as surprised.

_"You have no idea how right you really are, Marth."_


	10. THE LIAR.

Well, he was fucked. He was so fucked. 

Roy looked at Marth, who looked furious and confused. 

"I don't suppose you'll explain what you meant by that, Roy?" Marth asked. He was too calm. 

"Nope." Roy said. 

Lucina stood up. Oh yeah, he was definitely fucked now. 

"You bastard! Why don't you tell Marth what you told me, huh? Or maybe you just told me so you could win my trust, and then break his heart? There's a reason I told you to get lost!" Lucina yelled.

"Lucina, I swear that's not why I told you that I was in on the Headmaster's plan all along-" Roy said, then stopped. 

"WHAT." Marth shouted.

"Look, it's not that bad-" Roy lied, even though it was just as bad as it sounded.

"So, all those years of friendship were nothing more than lies? All those times I put up with your other lies were just fake?" Marth asked, clearly trying not to lose his temper.

Roy was quiet for a long time. What was he supposed to say? He could feel the urge to lie and say "don't worry Marth, it was real" or something along the lines of that. He could just embellish the truth a little. Just a little...

He was such a filthy liar. But he didn't know any other way, and not lying made him feel... bad. 

"No, I promise you were my friend. All of you were my friends." Roy said. The words sounded hollow, even to him.

"So you're not even going to confess your crime? You're going to lie to me- to all of us- again?" Marth said, voice rising in volume and intensity as he kept going. 

"Marth, please, calm down and look at it from my side! The Headmaster isn't as evil as you guys think they are!" Roy protested. 

More hollow words.

More lies.

Of course, Roy knew that the Headmaster was bad. But they'd offered him a better life than the others, as long as he cooperated with their scheme.

Be an inside agent, find out if the other kids weren't conforming to the strict expectations they had. 

Report back every so often.

Roy knew he was responsible for a lot of bad things. He knew that he was responsible for Sheik's incident. 

After all, he'd been the one to take note of the way Sheik looked at Corrin and realize that it went beyond the expected friendly love. He'd reported it, and now he was responsible for the way Sheik had been broken. 

Roy knew that the Headmaster was lying to all of them about the outside world. He knew where Sully and Pit had come from. 

"From your side? Roy, I thought you were on our side! I didn't think this would ever happen. How could you betray your friends like this?" Marth was basically yelling now. 

"I was promised a better life! I knew that you guys would be tortured and experimented on! As long as I cooperated, the Headmaster promised I'd be safe!" Roy yelled back. 

The others sat in stunned silence, basically trying to process this new information. 

"You did what?" Robin said, standing up too. 

"I sold you guys out for my own safety." Roy stated plainly. No lies this time, because it wouldn't help. But he still felt bad for not lying in some way. He had to save this somehow, so a lie would have to do. 

"COWARD!" Robin shouted. "ROY, YOU'RE A FUCKING COWARD!"

"Were you ever my friend?" Marth asked, voice back to that scary calm tone.

"Yes. I was."

Lie.

Well, not completely. 

"Why don't I believe you? Hmm, so odd." Marth said and laughed. It was a harsh sound, which was completely out of character for him.

And it was his fault.

"Trust me." Roy pleaded.

"How can I trust a liar?" Marth asked. 

Marth had a point, but it still stung for some reason.

"You're right. You can't." Roy said. 

"Marth, stop wasting your time with him. We have to go." Lucina said, resting her hand on Marth's shoulder.

"No. I have to know what the Headmaster wants with us." Marth replied, shrugging her hand off.

"I can tell you what they want." Roy said.

It was true, Roy knew the Headmaster's plan. He had since he was ten. 

That's when he sold his friends for his own safety.

_"Good boy. You know what's best for yourself, don't you? It's a wonder that people used to call children incapable of making their own decisions."_

Roy remembered those words all too clearly. Those words had been basically branded into his head since that fateful day, and now they had come back to haunt him. 

He remembered when the Headmaster used to praise the kids when someone did something that they liked. 

Sometimes, the Headmaster would still praise the kids, but it was rare. Of course, Roy received most of that praise in the Headmaster's office after reporting back information on his "friends."

"Go for it." Marth snapped. 

"They want to use you and your Gifts to create a race of godlike beings who obey their every wish. By using the correct breeding combination between you, the Gifts in your blood will produce the superpowered offspring the Headmaster desires." Roy said. The words made him feel sick, as they were the truth- the pure, unaltered truth. 

The truth really was a horrific thing. 

"What the fuck?" Robin whispered. The white haired boy's face paled, and his eyes widened. "But that would mean... the reason why they're so strict about relationships-"

Roy nodded, confirming what Robin was going to say.

"We're being used as breeding stock." Robin's voice was barely audible.

"And I suppose you were exempt from this rule?" Marth asked coldly.

Roy nodded again. 

"So all those times when you'd come back from the Headmaster's office with a limp or holding your arm like it was broken... those were just lies? Lies to cover up your visits to the Headmaster to report our activities?" Marth said. 

"It was all an act." Roy confirmed. Of course, that was a bit of a lie. Sometimes he actually did have injuries- when he refused to report something that would get a "friend" badly beaten, then he'd have actual injuries to show for his small rebellion. 

A Caretaker who was responsible for clearing the plates dropped one with a loud CRASH. As they bent over, Roy saw them press a hidden button inside of their collar and whisper something. 

He would have to report that.

"I have one more thing I have to say, Roy." Marth said. 

"Go ahead." Roy tried not to let his nerves show. He was actually scared about what Marth would say next. 

"I thought I loved you, but I guess I was in love with a lie."


	11. A BROKEN CAGE.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Contains minor gun violence.

Watching Marth try to come to terms with Roy's betrayal was painful. Lucina watched him go through practically every stage of grief in about five hours. 

First, he was in denial. 

"There's no way Roy could have sold us out for his own selfish desires! He had to have been pressured into it or something, right?"

Then he got mad. 

"The fucking bastard. I can't believe he'd lie to all of us like that! I'm so stupid, why would I fall in love with a lying asshole like him?" 

Then he was just sad.

"Lucina, could you just... leave me alone for a little while?"

She had left the room, and now she was sitting with Robin while he rewrote his paper that had been ripped earlier. 

Since Lucina knew better than to interrupt Robin while he was concentrating, she sat quietly next to him.

Every so often, Robin would groan in frustration and scribble something else. Lucina watched him get more and more upset, until he finally slammed the pencil down on the table after the lead broke. 

"I can't fucking do this anymore!" Robin hissed in annoyance. 

"It's okay, Robin." Lucina said, resting her hand on his. 

"No, it's not!" Robin snapped, but he didn't remove her hand. 

"You can finish this later. Right now, you're clearly frustrated. Please take a break." Lucina tried her best to sound soothing, but she had never been very good at that. 

Robin turned to face her, scowling. The harsh expression on his face softened a bit, but he still looked frustrated. "What would you like to do, since you're here with me?"

For some reason, Lucina thought the little half smile he was giving her was adorable. Without noticing it, she leaned closer to him. 

She had been attracted to him for a long time- probably a year since she'd started noticing her feelings for him. She'd been to scared to act on those feelings, but now?

Maybe she actually could-

Wait, were those gunshots?

The white haired boy and blue haired girl jumped apart like preteens who had been caught by their parents. 

"Robin?" Lucina asked.

"Those were gunshots." Robin replied, answering her unasked question. "Stay close to me."

He stood up from the table and grabbed his broken pencil, stuffing it into a pocket before grabbing the half finished paper. Lucina stood up as well, looking around to hopefully spot the source of the noise. It was in vain, which only served to heighten her nerves. 

Luckily, the pair managed to make it to the cells without too much trouble. Since Lucina and Marth's cell was the closest, the two of them ducked into the room to take cover. Marth wasn't in the room, which practically made Lucina's heart stop, but he appeared in the doorway shortly after she had sat down next to Robin. 

It seemed like Marth had gone to get the others, since Lucina spotted Zelda, Link, and Ike behind him. 

"Get in, quickly." Marth said, ushering his friends inside. "We've practiced this, remember? Not a sound."

Zelda, Link, Sheik, Corrin, Ike, Samus. 

All here.

Marth entered last, closing the door behind him. 

"Where's Roy?" Ike asked.

"I couldn't find him." Marth growled. 

The room went silent.

The gunshots grew closer, and closer, and closer. 

Lucina felt her heart rate increase each time the shots got closer. 

Robin took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, letting her know he was still there next to her. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Unlike before, there was nothing romantic on her mind now. 

Footsteps ran past the door, followed by shouting voices and more gunshots. Lucina closed her eyes and turned her head away, using Robin's shoulder as a sort of shield. She felt his other hand rest on the back of her head, which made her feel a little safer.

The gunshots continued for twelve minutes. Those twelve minutes seemed to stretch on forever, and Lucina spent those twelve minutes trying not to cry from the pressure. 

Robin was doing his best to keep her calm, but even he couldn't stop what Lucina was certain was an impending panic attack. She tried to stop herself from freaking out completely, but it was no use.

Gunshots had always scared her, but she'd actually been shot in the leg once when she failed to live up to the high standards that she was held to. 

Those memories... the pain... it all came rushing back when she heard gunshots. 

Lucina tightened her grip on the front of Robin's shirt, feeling tears slip out of her tightly closed eyes. 

At least she knew how to cry quietly. 

"It's going to be okay, Luci. You're safe." Robin whispered in her ear. "Those memories aren't real. They can't hurt you anymore." 

It was all she could to do bite back a sob. As it was, a quiet whimper escaped her lips, and Robin shifted his arms so he was sort of hugging her. 

All she could feel was panic. Her leg hurt like it did after she'd been shot, and the pain combined with the terror was almost unbearable. 

There was a knock on the door.

Then a gunshot.

Someone cried out in pain. 

Faint cursing could be heard on the other side of the door. 

Lucina forced herself to stay quiet, although she was basically sobbing by now. Maybe Robin was helping- usually she was never able to keep herself quiet once she reached this point in a panic attack. Being held by him gave her a sense of security that was able to somewhat combat the panic, although she knew that not everybody liked being held while they had a panic attack. 

One more gunshot, and the doorknob was gone. 

The door was kicked open, and two figures appeared in the doorway. 

"See, Caeda, I told you this was the right one!" said the taller one. He had a faint accent of some kind, which was odd to hear. Lucina didn't really register it, since she was busy freaking out. 

"Shut it." responded the shorter one, who must be named Caeda. "Come on, help me get the others up. He has to be in here."

"Still holding onto that hope after all these years, Caeda? It's more likely that he just ran away. Come on, then. Let's get this over with." the taller one said. 

Caeda started at the far end, helping Samus and Ike up first. The taller one helped Zelda and Link up, and the four stood by the door awkwardly. They must have been instructed to stay there, and to not just bolt out of there. Sheik and Corrin were next, and Caeda helped them. 

Finally, the taller one came over to help Robin and Lucina up.

"Hey there. Can she stand?" He asked Robin, holding a hand out to him. 

"I think so. She's not hurt physically." Robin replied to the taller guy. Then he turned his head to Lucina and whispered "Luci, can you stand up, please? The guns are gone, and this nice guy wants to help us get out of here."

Slowly, Lucina nodded, although she didn't want to let go of Robin. 

"Just don't let go." Lucina whispered to Robin, barely able to speak the words. 

Robin helped her stand while the taller guy stood off to the side. 

"My name's Shulk. The blue haired girl over there, helping your friends, is Caeda. We've both been looking for the..." Shulk trailed off and looked around the room. "I thought there were supposed to be ten of you?"

"There were, but..." Robin started, then glanced down at Marth. "We found out that the tenth member of our group was a traitor."

Shulk's face fell. "I'm... I'm so sorry. Now, do me a favor and go stand with the rest of your friends, okay? Caeda and I will help get you guys out of here. But first-" His words were cut off by a sudden gasp and a shout from the general direction of Caeda.

"Marth? I-is that you?"

Marth didn't reply.

"I've been looking for you since I turned twelve! I know it's weird to think, but you and I were best friends when we were kids. Do you remember who I am?" Caeda asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are." Marth said flatly.

If Caeda was affected by his words, she didn't show it.

"That's fine." Caeda said, although the words kind of sounded hollow. "Do you want to get out of here?"

She held out her hand.

Marth took it and stood up, looking at her face to face.

"I'm sorry." was all Marth said before he moved to stand by Ike and Samus. 

Robin helped Lucina over to the others, purposefully shielding her from the sight of the guns that both Caeda and Shulk carried. 

"Is everybody here?" Shulk asked. 

"Everybody's here." Caeda confirmed, after doing a quick count. 

"Let's move. The soldiers won't let us get out of here without a fight if we don't hurry." Shulk said. 

"Shulk, you take point. I'll bring up the rear." Caeda said. Her tone left no room for argument, and it sounded more like a command or an order. 

"Yes ma'am." Shulk said, heading out the door. "Follow me." He added to the other kids, poking his head back in as he spoke. 

Obediently, the group followed, with Ike and Samus leading. Marth was close behind them, followed by Link and Zelda, then Corrin and Sheik. Lastly, Robin helped Lucina along since she still didn't want to leave his side. 

Thankfully, Shulk and Caeda knew exactly where to go. There were white-clad bodies in the halls, unmoving and silent. Ominous red spots were spread over their torsos, and a pool of blood was slowly growing underneath their bodies. 

They'd been shot to death. 

Lucina could hardly look at the bullet wounds or the bodies. 

Once, a Caretaker jumped out at Shulk, but he quickly shot them in the head. Seemingly without remorse, he kept walking.

It was hard to keep track of how long they were walking for, but eventually the group reached a door labeled with the radioactive symbol and the words "DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR." 

Needless to say, Shulk opened the door. 

Much to the surprise of the nine, they weren't met with a blast of radioactive wind. Nor were they met with anything resembling a nuclear wasteland. 

Instead, a desert of red sand that sprawled as far as the eye could see confronted the nine kids. A grey vehicle that hovered just above the sand waited there, and a soft hum could be heard over the gentle breeze that tickled Lucina's face. 

"That's our ride. Should have enough room for all of you." Shulk said, gesturing to the vehicle. 

The door slid open. A gruff looking guy with brown skin and white hair cut in a flat top style sat at the wheel, the only illumination coming from the multicolored light that decorated the dashboard. 

"Alright, get in." The driver said, pressing a few buttons. A door on the side of the vehicle slid open, revealing a dimly lit space with several chairs.

"Thanks, Dedue. Now get us the hell out of here! Some of those bastards might be chasing after us, and I don't want to fail now." Shulk exclaimed, ushering the kids inside.

By now, Lucina had mostly calmed down, but the sight of this odd vehicle made her nervous. What if it stopped hovering? How far up did it go? What if the driver crashed it? She hesitated to get in, although Robin climbed in eagerly enough. 

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe." Caeda whispered to Lucina, giving the other blue haired girl a reassuring grin.

Still hesitant, Lucina stepped closer to the vehicle. 

Far off, seemingly coming from the Compound, a gunshot sounded. Any anxieties she might have had about the vehicle disappeared like dew in the sun, and she hurriedly clambered inside. Luckily for her, the seat on Robin's left was still open. She sat down and Caeda helped her buckle the seatbelt.

"Alright, we're good to go." Caeda called to Dedue after buckling her own seatbelt.

"Excellent." Dedue said, then pressed some buttons. The door slid closed, plunging the kids into darkness. "I can turn on a light back there if you'd like. I advise trying to get some sleep, though."

Sleep sounded nice, but Lucina wasn't sure how she'd be able to sleep in this thing-

Her thoughts were cut off as the vehicle started forwards, startling her. After a bit, she found the soft hum of the engine soothing, but the sudden forward motion had set her on edge. So much for sleep, right? 

Robin took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Luci, please try to get some sleep. Something tells me that all of us are going to need as much rest as we can get in the next few hours."

"Robin, I'm scared." Lucina whispered, feeling like a little kid again. 

In response, Robin leaned over and pressed his lips to her cheek. The kiss was quick, but Lucina could feel her face turn bright red. He pulled back slightly and whispered "Sleep well, love."

Well, how was she supposed to sleep now?

"But I-" Lucina started saying, but Robin stopped her by placing a finger on her lips.

"We can talk about it more after you take a nap, okay?" Robin whispered. 

Lucina honestly felt like she was going to melt, but she nodded and closed her eyes.

She may or may not have dreamed of kissing Robin on the lips once she managed to fall asleep.


	12. WELCOME HOME.

Long story short, Robin was feeling overwhelmed.

The trip away from the Compound had been long- three or four hours long, to be exact. Lucina had slept the whole way, thank the gods. Once they'd been driving for about an hour, Robin had fallen asleep as well. Well, he might have fallen asleep. He didn't really remember, for some reason.

It had been hard to fall asleep, but he'd managed to do it. Maybe.

When he woke up again (so he must have fallen asleep after all), the vehicle, which Caeda had called a car, had stopped. The motion of the car stopping woke Lucina up as well, and she looked around in confusion until Robin rested a hand on hers and whispered "you're safe now."

She looked like she was going to say something, but Robin stopped her. "Later, okay? I don't want to talk about it here."

Lucina's face fell a bit, but she nodded. "Okay." She replied, her voice groggy from sleep and barely audible.

It was kind of hot, if Robin was being honest.

Gods, he was pathetic, wasn't he?

Well, at least he was pathetic for the most beautiful girl on the planet-

SNAP OUT OF IT, ROBIN.

The door of the car opened, and Caeda jumped out first.

"Alright guys, gals, and non-binary pals, we've arrived at our destination!" Shulk exclaimed. If anybody had been sleeping, they probably wouldn't be sleeping anymore. "Everybody out, please."

Surprisingly, Samus was the first one to leave the car. Ike followed her, protesting slightly. Robin heard Ike's protests cut off sharply, which he thought was weird. Curious, Robin decided to exit next.

If Lucina was behind him, Robin had no idea. All he could think was that he wanted to go back inside the car.

Huge monstrosities constructed out of glass and concrete rose out of the ground, towering into the sky so far that they seemed to touch the clouds themselves. Cars drove along the streets, and people-oh gods, there were so many people- walked seemingly alongside the cars. Did those people not fear death?

"Holy shit!" Samus exclaimed, which about summarized Robin's thoughts at the moment.

"What in the world...?" Zelda asked in amazement.

The whole group stared at the busy city in front of them, in shock. How could there possibly be this many people in the whole world?

Shulk walked up beside Robin and clapped him on the shoulder. "Takes a bit to get used to, huh? Don't worry, the city isn't as scary as it looks."

Caeda had somehow made her way to the front of the group, and now she tried to get the attention of the shocked teenagers.

"Welcome to Ebonfell City." Caeda said simply, having to shout to be heard over the noise of the city. "Proud to be the capital of the middle of nowhere, famous among Wanderers as a great place to hide out for a while. Known as the City of Crime among the residents of the greater Interspecies Alliance, it's also your new home."

Nobody spoke a word. City of Crime? How lovely.

Shulk cleared his throat. "Well, not exactly... Ebonfell isn't your new home. It's always been your home. This is more of a homecoming."

What?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Samus asked. She's in shock, and she usually gets angry when she doesn't know what to expect. Why does Robin know that? Dunno, he can't remember. Odd.

"It's best if we leave the explaining to our true leader." Caeda looked and sounded really guilty for some reason. Weird.

"Right! Of course. Well, follow me." Shulk laughed, also sounding really guilty. He started walking, leaving the others to follow.

The group followed like little ducklings, not that they had any idea what a duckling was. Five minutes passed, and they arrived at a short, dark painted building nestled between two glass buildings.

As they walked, Shulk kept up an interesting commentary on the history of Ebonfell and why the city looked like a bit of a hodge podge of different buildings. Apparently, it had been built shortly after the first Gifted child had been born, and the different buildings were a result of the different architectural styles and materials available over the decades. It was fascinating stuff to Robin, who was probably going to check out a library (another thing Shulk had mentioned, which sounded like absolute _heaven_ to Robin) and find some books on the history of the city.

Either way, the way this building looked kind of gave Robin the chills. There was a symbol on the door, barely visible on the dark wood of the door. It was a circle, split by two perpendicular lines, giving it a crosshairs vibe.

"Shulk? What's that symbol on the door?" Robin asked curiously.

"The Leader will explain." Was all Shulk said in response, and the tall blond male stepped up to the door and knocked in a specific pattern.

The door swung open.

A small boy, who couldn't have been older than 14, stood there. He had ashen grey hair and vibrant green eyes, and was wearing black rectangular glasses. The glasses had slipped down his nose a bit, and he pushed them up as soon as the door was open.

"Oh! Hello, Shulk! I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon. Is Caeda with you?" The boy asked, grinning.

"Yeah. We've got nine of the Lost." Shulk replied. His face was serious, but it eventually turned into a smile. "Good to see you, Ashe."

"Nine? I thought there was ten?" The boy, who must be Ashe, sounded confused.

_He must be talking about Roy._

"Unforeseen circumstances and faulty data. Now, will you go let the Leader know we're here?" Shulk said dismissively.

Ashe nodded and slipped deeper into the mysterious building. Marth looked confused, since his title at the Compound had been The Leader. Obviously he wasn't the leader here. So who was?

Ashe reappeared a minute later, little smile on his face. "The Leader will see you now. You know where to go, right?"

"Of course." Shulk said to Ashe. Then, he turned back to the others. "Follow me, please. Do not stare at anything, understand?"

Don't stare? What the hell could that mean?

As Shulk led the group into the building, the sudden quiet compared to the city noise outside was striking. When the door closed, the entrance hall was plunged into complete darkness.

Lucina took Robin's hand for reassurance, and although Robin couldn't see her face, he knew she looked worried. She was probably on edge right now. Hell, they all were. But Robin didn't want her to get hurt.

He wouldn't let her get hurt again.

The Leader's room was bright compared to the darkness of the corridor. Inside, a tall man with shaggy blue hair stood with his back to the arriving group.

"So, you've arrived." The Leader's voice was deep and somehow melodic. It was rather pleasant to listen to, if Robin was being honest.

He turned around.

Almost immediately, Robin was struck by the man's resemblance to both Marth and Lucina. His stern expression melted almost right away as he observed the group.

"Gods, we've finally done it." The Leader mumbled. Then, he stepped forwards. "Marth. Lucina. Come here."

Hesitantly, Lucina stepped forward enough so she could be seen. Marth did the same, and he shared an apprehensive glance with his sister.

"You might not remember me, but I'm your father." The Leader said softly. It was an odd tone of voice, contrasting greatly with the armor he wore. After looking at his children for a moment longer, he cleared his throat and addressed the group as a whole. "My apologies. I am Chrom, leader of the Rebellion."

"Why is there a rebellion, Mr. Chrom?" Zelda asked in a small voice.

Chrom winced. "Please, just call me Chrom. Being addressed as Mr. makes me feel old." With his preference established, Chrom proceeded to answer Zelda's question. "My subordinates and I are part of an underground movement to destroy the unjust government. I'm the leader of the local movement. Until now, I'd mainly focused my efforts on finding you nine."

"Why's that?" Link asked.

"You'll see. I cannot explain more than that at the moment. You all look like you've endured so much suffering. I do not wish to burden you further. When you've recovered enough, the answers you seek will be revealed." Chrom said cryptically.

Silence. Wow, this was a lot to take in.

"Now, we have some people I'd like you to meet. Namely, your families. Marth, you and Lucina will meet your mother, since you've met me already. I have some business to attend to, so Shulk will guide you to meet with your families." Chrom said.

"But what about-" Caeda started, but Chrom cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Caeda, but I need you here for debriefing. I promise you'll have time to reconnect with him." Chrom explained reluctantly.

Caeda bowed her head in acknowledgment, although Robin caught a glimpse of distress flickering across her face.

"Right-o. Do you want me to supervise the reunion or no?" Shulk asked cheerfully, although some of his enthusiasm seemed forced.

"I'd like you to keep an eye on the reunion. Make sure nothing goes south too quickly, alright?" Chrom replied.

Shulk saluted and turned to the group once more. "Alright. Follow me. Again." He said, sighing a bit.

The group followed, for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the past few hours. This time, the walk was a bit longer- about 13 minutes. The hall was a bit brighter than the entrance, which Robin was glad for. The dark was kind of unnerving to him.

"Robin?" Lucina whispered.

"Yes, Luci?" Robin whispered back.

"I-I don't understand..." Lucina made a vague gesture around at the hall, likely meaning she didn't understand everything that was happening. "Why did that guy say he was my father? I just..."

Robin would have hugged her, but they were walking and Marth was literally right there. He figured that he'd have to get Marth's blessing before he started...

Well, let's not get into that right now. More like Robin didn't want to think about that right now.

"I'm sure he'll explain. Obviously _they_ did something to our memories, but maybe there's a way to fix that. Maybe there's a way to gain what we've lost." Robin whispered back, trying to reassure himself as much as Lucina.

Before Lucina could respond, Shulk stopped walking.

"We're here. Now, I'd like to say this: your families are going to be overjoyed to see you. They may be very... overwhelming. You have a right to enforce your boundaries. There's a door that leads to a patio where you can get some fresh air. I'll be standing by it, so if you need a break, look for me." Shulk said.

Marth looked at the group quickly, then nodded as if to say "we're ready."

"Good luck." Shulk said, then opened the door.


	13. A FAMILY AGAIN.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Symptoms of a panic attack are described.

The room was bigger than it looked like it should from the outside. It looked like it was supposed to be a ballroom of some sort, and was really fancy. Corrin almost felt dirty compared to the shining white pillars and gold leaf decorations. 

He looked around the room, kind of at a loss for what to do. How was he supposed to identify his family? He didn't remember their faces. Did he even have a family?

Suddenly, a little girl who couldn't have been more than twelve came running over to him. She was blonde, with really long hair, brown eyes, and an adorable grin on her face.

"Are you my big brother?" She asked excitedly. 

"I-I don't know..?" Corrin replied.

Another girl, this time with lavender colored hair and eyes the same color as the blonde girl's, came walking over. Almost immediately, Corrin was struck by how odd her outfit was- _why was that neckline so low?_

"Elise, honestly, you can't go running off like that! What would Father say-" The lavender haired girl started saying, then looked up and locked eyes with Corrin. She stopped speaking and stared at him for a moment longer, then broke out into a grin. "Corrin! It's been so long. You've turned into quite the handsome young man, haven't you?"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Corrin asked anxiously, since the way she was speaking to him as if she knew him and her outfit were making him uncomfortable.

"You really don't remember me? Or the rest of your siblings?" The girl asked, face falling a bit.

In response, Corrin just shook his head. 

"Poor thing. I'm Camilla. This is Elise. Everybody else can't wait to see you! Follow me." The lavender haired girl- or rather, Camilla- said with forced enthusiasm. 

So he'd disappointed her. Great. 

The "others" Camilla had spoken of happened to be a group of seven other kids, as well as a tall and stern looking man standing next to a brown haired woman with an angelic smile on her face. 

Corrin didn't get a chance to observe the whole group, as a girl about his age with silver hair and red eyes like his came out of literally nowhere and threw her arms around him. 

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" The silver haired girl exclaimed, although her voice was muffled by his shoulder. "Gods, I missed you!"

Awkwardly, Corrin patted her back, not really sure what he was supposed to say to that. "I-"

The girl released the hug, then stepped back and looked at him. "Sorry. You never really were one for physical contact, were you? But I suppose you don't remember that..." She trailed off, then shook her head as if she were trying to banish the unpleasant thoughts. "I'm sorry. My name is Corrine. I'm your older twin sister. Apparently Mom wasn't feeling too creative when she named us."

"You say sorry a lot." Corrin said, trying to salvage the situation. 

"I'm sor-" Corrine stopped herself, then groaned in frustration. "I almost did it again. Anyways! I guess I'd better reintroduce you to the rest of our siblings, huh?"

"That would be nice. Thank you, Corrine." Corrin replied, with a dip of his head in thanks. 

"Obviously you've met Camilla and Elise already. The tall blond guy talking to the shorter blond is Xander. The shorter one is Leo. Behind them is Garon, our step-dad. Technically, Camilla, Elise, Xander, and Leo are all our step siblings." Corrine said, back to her earlier energetic tone. She pointed out each person as she mentioned them, which Corrin found helpful. 

Camilla and Elise had rejoined the crowd, and were now talking to Xander and Leo- probably telling them to greet Corrin. Before Corrin could wonder what his two step-brothers had been doing, (gods, that felt so weird to even think,) Corrine had taken his hand and was now dragging him over to the other five people he still had to be introduced to. 

"Now, here we have our actual blood related siblings. The brunette one with the red shirt and all that hair is Ryoma. The girl with the light red hair who's talking to Ryoma is Sakura. Next to Sakura is Hinoka. She's the girl with the short red hair. Behind Hinoka is Takumi, the angsty looking guy with the long greyish hair. Mom is trying to talk to him. Her name is Mikoto, but only Garon calls her that." Corrine continued, still pointing out each person as she mentioned them.

Corrin's head was starting to hurt from all the activity and information. Why was he finding it kind of hard to breathe? His chest felt tight; he almost felt like he was drowning while he was on land. 

While he tried to breathe, Corrin didn't really pay attention to what was going on around him until he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Shocked, he whirled around to find Sakura standing behind him.

"Eeek!" Sakura exclaimed after Corrin's sudden movement. "I-I'm sorry, Corrin. Did I scare you?"

Corrin looked around, trying to find his twin. Where had she gone? "Uh, no, sorry. I was just thinking."

"I just wanted to say hello and welcome back." Sakura explained. "So... hello, and welcome home, big brother."

"Thank you." Corrin said, although it was hard for him to spit out the words. His throat felt like it was closing up; he couldn't breathe. 

The next ten minutes passed in a blur. His siblings and step siblings alike came up and talked to him, all saying almost exactly the same thing.

There were too many people here. What was it Shulk had said about a patio? Corrin needed to get away. It was too much. Too many people. Too many smiles and hugs and greetings, too much noise. 

"E-excuse me. I'll b-be right back." Corrin mumbled, then slipped away. Nobody spared him a second glance, oddly enough. He spotted Shulk standing over by a plain door, which was at odds with the rest of the fancy decorations in the ballroom. 

Shulk spotted Corrin coming and wordlessly opened the door. As Corrin stepped through the door, Shulk whispered "You're not the only one out there. I won't tell you who else is, because that would ruin the fun- I mean, they've asked to be left alone."

Corrin just nodded and stepped through the door completely. 

On the other side of the door, a small patio overlooked the city. It was the middle of the day, but Corrin didn't notice much beyond that. Maybe it had something to do with who else happened to be standing by the railing, overlooking the city below him.

Luckily for Corrin, Sheik hadn't noticed he was standing there yet. 

Quietly, Corrin stepped closer. He still felt overwhelmed and panicky, but now his heart was beating rapidly for a different reason. 

Sheik's head was bowed, and his hair obscured his face. From this distance, Corrin could see the other boy shaking slightly. 

"Sheik? A-are you alright?" Corrin whispered.

The blond boy literally jumped when he was spoken to, allowing Corrin to see his face. He looked like he'd been crying, which hurt Corrin's heart to see. 

"I-I don't know anymore. I thought I could do it, but I guess I can't." Sheik mumbled. 

"It's okay. I had to get away from everybody as well." Corrin said, but he knew that Sheik wasn't entirely talking about the reintroductions. 

"They talk about me like they know who I am, but I can't remember who they are. They look at me like they're accusing me of being different than the little boy they knew. I can't do this. I can't go back in there." Sheik bit his lip once he'd finished speaking, clearly holding back tears. 

"You don't have to." Corrin said gently. "You don't have to go back in there."

_You could just stay out here with me. That would be nice._

What was this feeling? How did you describe they way he felt when he was around his best friend? 

Subconsciously, Corrin stepped closer to Sheik. 

Sheik didn't back away.

Corrin took the other boy's hand.

"Talk to me. What's on your mind?" Corrin whispered. They were so close...

He could just lean in.

Gods, he wanted to. 

The feeling scared him. The intensity of the feelings running through him scared him so much. 

"I..." Sheik whispered back, at a loss for what to say. 

He still hadn't backed away. 

Corrin moved closer, and their noses were almost touching. 

"I know I shouldn't want this." Corrin mumbled. "I know it's wrong. You're my best friend."

Sheik didn't respond. His breath was light against Corrin's skin, and it drove him crazy. Why did he feel like this?

Corrin closed the distance between the two of them and kissed Sheik, not really sure what he was doing. 

Much to his surprise, Sheik didn't push him off. He gasped quietly in surprise when Corrin's lips met his, but he didn't do anything else.

Instead, he started kissing Corrin back. 

He wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted. Eventually he had to pull back for air, but he could feel himself blushing like crazy. All he wanted to do was kiss Sheik again. 

What did you call this feeling?

Sheik looked away from him.

"I-I'm sorry, Corrin." Sheik mumbled, then he turned and ran away.

Leaving Corrin to stand on the balcony by himself, watching him go. 

_What have I done?_


	14. UNLUCKY IN LOVE.

After what seemed like an eternity of smiles, kind words, pitying glances, and more, Marth was exhausted. 

Well, and upset. 

How could they have known that he got really mad when _HE_ was even brought up in casual conversation?

How could they have known that he felt like a failure for letting himself be lied to by the first person he'd loved?

Shulk had eventually broken the reunion up, saying that it was high time that the kids were led to their new rooms. Thank the gods he had, otherwise Marth was considering taking one of the fancy ass candelabras and smacking someone over the head with it.

He was now sitting in his room, staring up at the ceiling while sprawled on his bed. His room was nice and all, but it was... quiet. 

Too quiet.

It was his room, and although Lucina's room was next door, he still felt... unsafe without her in the room with him. 

A sudden knock on the door startled Marth, making him sit up so quickly he felt dizzy. 

Well, that's one way to stop wallowing in your own self-pity. 

Slowly, since the world was spinning under his feet, Marth stumbled to the door. Before opening it, he made sure to count to three so that he didn't look like a drunk bastard when he opened the door. 

He was not expecting to see Robin on the other side of the door, but then again maybe he should have. 

Marth was many things, but he wasn't a fool. He knew that Robin was fond of Lucina. He also knew that Lucina liked Robin back. 

But she was his sister, and as trustworthy as Robin might be, sometimes something about the white haired boy seemed... off. 

Could he really trust Robin not to hurt his sister?

"Robin. Good evening." Marth greeted his friend, stepping aside to let him enter.

"How's it going, Marth?" Robin asked, entering the room and nodding his thanks. 

"Fine. Now, I assume you want something." Marth replied, keeping his answers short and to the point. Normally he wasn't so blunt, but he was exhausted and angry and didn't want to deal with people right now. 

"Yeah." Robin looked at his hands, then back up at Marth. 

Instead of responding, Marth just kind of looked at him like "bruh just say it already."

"CanIaskyoursistertobemygirlfriend?" Robin asked, speaking so quickly that Marth didn't catch anything beyond "sister" and "girlfriend."

"Slow down, please. It's alright, Robin. I'm not that scary." Marth said, kind of in a patronizing tone. He was good at that. 

Robin took a deep breath. Then, slower, he said "Can I ask your sister to be my girlfriend?"

Well, shit.

How was he supposed to answer this?

Obviously Marth wanted the best for his sister, but like he'd been thinking about earlier, he wasn't sure if Robin was the best for her.

"Uh...." Marth ended up saying, because he's really intelligent like that. 

Robin just looked at him, still hopeful. 

"I don't know, man. No offense or anything, but you kind of seem... weird sometimes. I just don't want Lucina to get hurt any more than she already has." Marth said. 

The hope in Robin's eyes flickered out and died. He looked absolutely crushed, and the expression on his face made Marth feel like a horrible person.

Then, something _snapped_ in Robin's eyes.

"I'm sorry, what the fuck did you just say?" Robin asked, but his voice sounded... cruel and cold. 

Marth backed up a bit, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Dude. Chill. It's not the end of the world. I might change my mind, you know."

"Might? Might? Ha! Like you ever change your mind once it's made up." Robin sneered.

"What's wrong with you? You hardly ever lose it like this!" Marth said. He didn't enjoy being sneered at. Something in Robin's voice now reminded him of the way the Headmaster spoke, and that freaked Marth out.

"There's nothing wrong with me-" Robin started saying, but then he winced and held a hand to his head. "Damn." 

"Guess I was right! If you can't even control your own temper, how am I supposed to let you date my sister? You'll just get mad and hurt her, and I don't want that to happen!" Marth said, edging towards the door. 

"Fuck you, Marth." Robin hissed. "I was only asking you for your blessing to date her as a courtesy! I don't actually need it, now do I?" Almost immediately after he spoke, he closed his eyes and grimaced in pain. 

Then, in what was probably the cherry on top of the weirdest day of his life, Robin opened his eyes again and looked at Marth like he didn't know where he was. 

"What in the world?" Robin asked, voice back to normal now. 

"You just yelled at me, and now you're acting like you didn't do anything? Wow. And I thought this day couldn't get any better." Marth said, voice heavy with sarcasm. 

"Marth, I swear I don't remember what just happened! What did I say?" Robin exclaimed, sounding a little panicked now. 

"You swore at me and were an all around asshole." Marth said flatly. 

"I'm so sorry! I-" Robin started saying, but Marth cut him off. 

"Get out. I don't want to hear excuses. My answer is no, and that is likely final." Marth said. 

Robin bowed his head in acknowledgement and fled the room.

././.

Robin wasn't usually an emotional wreck, but something about the way Marth had looked at him while he said "no" was really screwing with him. 

As luck (or maybe misfortune) would have it, Robin nearly ran into Lucina while he was fleeing the Wrath of Marth. 

"Robin! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Are you-" Lucina stopped mid sentence, as she looked up at him and saw the expression on his face. "What happened?"

"Can we go sit down somewhere, please?" Robin asked softly.

"Sure thing." Lucina said. As she led him to somewhere that was a little bit quieter, she would glance back at him to make sure he was okay every once in a while.

Soon, they had reached a quiet spot to sit. 

"Here we are. So, what happened?" Lucina asked. 

"I went to go get Marth's permission to ask you out." Robin responded. "He wasn't sure, and then something happened, and now he's pissed at me."

"What did you say?" Lucina asked, her voice soft with sympathy. "Marth is in kind of a bad mood right now because of earlier, and the whole Roy business. It might not even be your fault. Marth might just be being unreasonable because he's upset." 

"No, I know I said _something,_ I just can't remember what I said!" Robin exclaimed. "I feel really fucking terrible about it, too! One moment I was thinking about what I was saying, and then there's a weird gap, and then Marth is yelling at me for something I don't remember doing!"

"Robin..." Lucina whispered.

He didn't respond, as he didn't really trust himself to speak. He was breathing rapidly, trying not to freak out. Briefly, he closed his eyes and tried counting to ten. His count was interrupted when he felt Lucina's arms slip around his waist, and her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Robbie." Lucina whispered. "It's not your fault."

"I feel like it is, though." Robin whispered back, biting back a sob. Gods, he was pathetic. 

"It isn't! You just had bad timing. How were you supposed to know that Marth was in such a bad mood?" Lucina said. 

"But I-" Robin started saying, but Lucina cut him off by putting one of her fingers on his lips. 

"Enough, Robbie. You can't beat yourself up about it if you don't remember doing it." Lucina said. 

Robin sighed. Gods, Lucina was such a sweetheart. He couldn't stay mad at her brother, even if that whole conversation with Marth had gone downhill really quickly. Well, and how could he be upset when he was with her?

"Thanks, Luci. What would I do without you?" Robin whispered, smiling and slipping an arm around her shoulders. 

"I don't know. For a genius, you really can be an idiot sometimes." Lucina replied, laughing as she spoke. "I mean that in the best way possible, you know."

"Of course." Robin said, laughing along with her. 

At that moment, a stab of pain went through Robin's skull. It felt familiar, for some reason. But why? He swore he could hear two voices arguing in the back of his mind. Wincing slightly, Robin tried to listen to the voices, and almost immediately regretted it. 

"50 dollars says he kisses her."

"No way. He's too chicken."

"Holy Me, you really are stupid." 

"Listen here you little fucker-"

"Just take the bet. I'm bored."

"Fine. How are you even gonna pay up when you lose, though? I mean, you don't actually have any money." 

"Magic, bitch."

Robin stopped listening after that, but he could tell that they were both still arguing with each other. So he was just going insane now?

How wonderful. 

He couldn't deny that he wanted to kiss Lucina properly. But now maybe he wouldn't, just to spite the voice that seemed more familiar than the other one.

"Lucina, I don't think I tell you how much I appreciate you enough." Robin said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the two of them.

"Why so sentimental all of a sudden?" Lucina asked, adjusting herself a bit so she could look at Robin's face.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

Lucina laughed. "You're such a dork."

"Of course I am." Robin laughed. 

Looking at her now, how had he never realized that Lucina's eyes were slightly different from each other? Her left eye, the one with the brand in it, was a slightly lighter shade of blue than her right eye. 

But, no. Now was not the time to think about that. Marth had said no, and as much as Robin wanted to ask Lucina out, he knew that he couldn't. Forbidden romances never worked out-

"Am I interrupting something?" Sheik asked.

Startled, Robin and Lucina jumped apart. Lucina's face was bright red, and she cleared her throat while staring anywhere except at Robin or Sheik. 

"I-I swear it's n-not what it looks like!" Lucina exclaimed. 

Sheik looked surprisingly undisturbed by this, but then again, sometimes Robin was convinced that the blond boy didn't actually feel anything. Other times, he dismissed the thought, but at times like this...

"Lucina, Zelda wants to talk to you." Sheik said, basically ignoring what the blushing bluenette had said previously. 

Without a word, Lucina stood up and walked past Sheik, moving as fast as she could without seeming guilty.

Robin leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "I'm so fucking screwed." He groaned, sure that it couldn't get any worse. 

Those two voices were ridiculing him, but the slightly familiar one seemed pissed that he lost that bet he'd been talking about. 

Of course, it had to get worse. Ike walked over and saw Robin with his head in his hands.

"Dude, nice. Real smooth." Ike chuckled. He clapped Robin on the back and kept walking, still laughing.

"Please don't tell Marth." Robin begged.

"Don't worry, I won't." Sheik said, the toneless quality of his voice kind of scaring Robin a bit.

"Are you mad at me?" Robin asked.

"I'm not mad at you. It's got nothing to do with you. You'd better go to your room so you don't embarrass yourself further." Sheik replied. 

Robin obeyed, standing up and basically running over to the stairs.

"Oh, and Robin?" Sheik said, raising his voice to be heard.

"Yeah?" Robin responded.

"Get a room next time." Sheik said, then turned away.

Robin could have sworn he saw Sheik smile at his own joke.


	15. DISTRACTED.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains mentions of self-harm.

It had been a week since the rescue, and Zelda went to sleep each night either exhausted or worried. Sometimes both, if it had been a particularly trying day. Adjusting to life in the city was so difficult, especially considering how she could hardly go and talk to people who'd been raised here for advice. They all looked at her like she was insane. 

Adding to all this stress was her worry about her brother. He'd been walking around, looking like he was dead inside. Granted, Sheik usually looked dead inside to some degree, but he'd seemed extra out of it lately. Zelda had to do something about it, but she didn't know what the hell she could do. 

She half wanted to confront him about it, but how could she bring it up without setting him off? Zelda knew that he was likely barely holding it together. She didn't want to send him over the edge by asking what was wrong, since he'd freaked out in the past when asked "are you okay?"

So, if she couldn't talk to Sheik about it, why not talk to his best friend?

There she was now, standing in front of his door. 

Zelda raised her hand and knocked three times. 

"Be right there!" Corrin said, followed by running footsteps and then the sound of muffled cursing. 

Corrin opened the door. He was standing on one foot and grimacing in pain. His pained expression quickly turned into surprise, then confusion. 

"Zelda? I wasn't expecting you. Sorry about that." Corrin said sheepishly, putting his other foot down and smiling apologetically. 

"Did you stub your toe or something?" Zelda asked, since she was genuinely concerned. 

"Ahhh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Corrin mumbled. 

So now Corrin seemed out of it, too. What the heck was going on? Was everybody just dying inside now? 

Great.

"Are you feeling okay?" Zelda asked.

"I'm fine. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here?" Corrin lied. If Zelda wasn't so good at listening to the tone of a person's voice while they replied to that question, then he would have gotten away with the lie. But, no. 

"I wanted to talk to you about my brother." Zelda said, deciding to just move past it for now.

Corrin literally jumped a few centimeters in the air, and his hand slipped off the doorknob. The door nearly closed on her, but luckily she was able to enter the room right in time. 

"Dude, seriously?" Zelda yelped, startled by almost being killed by a door.

"Sorry!" Corrin exclaimed, looking just as startled as Zelda. "M-maybe you'd better follow me." 

Zelda sighed in exasperation and followed Corrin, since she had nothing better to do and she really didn't want to get killed by a door. He led her to the kitchen/small dining room, since the rooms each teenager had been given seemed more like small apartments than anything else. 

"Go ahead, sit down." Corrin said, still seeming freaked out from the mere mention of Zelda's brother. "What did you want to talk about, again? I'm so sorry for almost killing you."

"I wanted to talk to you about Sheik! He's been acting weird ever since we got here, and he won't even talk to me! Surely you know. He tells you more than he tells me." Zelda exclaimed, sitting down on one of the barstools by the kitchen counter. 

Corrin's face turned bright red. Suspicious. 

"Did you do something?" Zelda asked warily. 

"No! Kind of! Maybe? Yes!" Corrin stuttered. 

"What the hell does that mean?" Zelda asked, a bit of anger creeping into her voice. Really, she's just frustrated and probably sleep deprived. Whoops. 

"How much has he told you?" Corrin asked. Way to dodge the question, man. 

"Nothing! That's why I'm here!" Zelda exclaimed. Honestly, what was up with the both of them? 

"I don't know how to explain it..." Corrin mumbled. 

"Can you at least try?" Zelda was honestly starting to get frustrated with him. Was it really so hard to just say what was bothering him? Granted, sometimes getting Sheik to talk about what was bothering him was like trying to pull teeth. But Corrin was supposed to be different. Corrin was supposed to talk about what he was feeling easily. 

Guess not. 

"Would you be mad at me if I said that I kissed your brother?" Corrin said, after a moment of silence. 

Wait, what?

"I don't know, did you?" Zelda asked cautiously. This was starting to feel like an interrogation.

"....yes." Corrin whispered, his voice barely audible. He looked away and blushed, as if the memory was embarrassing or something. 

"Oh my gods. Corrin, you idiot!" Zelda exclaimed, a grin spreading onto her face. "You could've just said that from the start! I can't wait to tell Samus, she'll be pissed that she lost the bet-"

"Zelda." Corrin said, effectively interrupting her. "I would've said something sooner, but I'm almost entirely certain that Sheik doesn't like me like that."

Zelda frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"He ran away from me." Corrin's voice broke, but he cleared his throat to cover it up. 

Now that was... odd. 

Unless..?

No. 

There was no way. 

"Did he say anything to you before he ran from you?" Zelda asked, mostly just talking to herself. 

"He apologized to me, and then ran." Corrin said flatly, any prior trace of emotion gone. 

Now where had she heard that tone before?

Ah, yes. Of course.

It was the same way Sheik had been speaking all week. 

"Apologized?" Zelda's voice went up an octave. Maybe two. 

"Yes, Zelda. He apologized to me." Corrin responded. "What is it that you aren't comprehending?"

"I just-" Zelda threw her hands up in exasperation. "It's not my place to say! But-" Right as she was about to speak, she clapped a hand over her mouth. 

Corrin looked at her expectantly, like he knew she was hiding something. 

"I'm sorry, I have to go!" Zelda stood up suddenly, basically knocking over the chair that she had been sitting in. "It was lovely talking to you, Corrin. I'm really sorry for leaving so suddenly, but..."

"Nah, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Corrin said, smiling halfheartedly as he spoke. 

Zelda was in too much of a rush to respond, since she was a woman on a mission. Better watch out, because she's determined. 

As she was walking (more like running, really) out the door, she could have sworn she heard Corrin say "It's not the first time one of the Harkinian twins has run out on me this week, anyway."

Ouch.

Not like Zelda was paying attention to him anyways. She was too busy running down to Sheik's room, since it seemed like she needed to go slap some sense into him. 

"SHEIK HARKINIAN, YOU'D BETTER OPEN THIS DOOR OR I'LL SLAP YOU INTO NEXT WEEK-" Zelda shouted, knocking on the door with more force than was probably necessary. 

Zelda hesitated before beginning to knock again. Right as she was about to start again, Sheik opened the door. 

Sheik looked tired, but that was normal. He looked like he'd been trying to take a nap, since it was early in the afternoon at the moment. His hair was all sorts of messy, adding to the whole "just got out of bed" aesthetic. 

However, Zelda wasn't stupid. Sheik's eyes looked haunted. And was that blood on his hands? 

"Good afternoon, sister dearest." Sheik said. Yeah, he must have just been sleeping. His voice sounded deeper than it usually did. 

"Are you doing alright?" Zelda asked, kind of stunned by his sudden appearance. And, well, the state he seemed to be in. 

"I'm fine. Tired, but I'm fine. It's not every day that I get woken up by my sister threatening me." Sheik responded. 

"I had to make sure you actually came to the door!" Zelda protested. If Sheik thought he was being clever by distracting her from his current state, he was going to have to think of a different plan. 

"Alright. Do you need me for something? Like getting a friend that you're too lazy to go find?" Sheik sounded almost upset about the other night, when she'd asked him to do that. What had happened? He hadn't said anything to her beyond "I've told Lucina that you want to speak to her." 

"What happened?" Zelda asked, voicing her thoughts out loud. 

"Nothing." Sheik answered, although there was some anger in his voice. "I assume this might take a while. Want to sit down?"

He was acting weird. Usually he was never this prickly. "Sure." Zelda nodded, then followed her brother inside his room. 

As Sheik stepped to the side to allow her to enter, Zelda could've sworn she saw a gash on the inside of his left forearm, since he was holding the door open for her. 

Then it hit her. 

_The knives in the kitchen area._

Oh fuck.

Almost as soon as the door was closed, Zelda turned around and grabbed Sheik's left wrist. He didn't flinch or anything, but as soon as she rolled up his left sleeve...

Five neat lines, almost exactly perpendicular, ran across the inside of his forearm. Knowing him, he hadn't stopped there. 

"Show me your other wrist." Zelda commanded, feeling a little sick. Gods, why hadn't she thought of this sooner? 

Silently, Sheik obeyed, rolling up his right sleeve. 

Five more neat lines, again almost exactly perpendicular. 

"I can explain-" Sheik started saying, but Zelda cut him off. 

"No, Sheik. I already knew you cut yourself. You tried to do it when we were under _their_ imprisonment. I'm not stupid! But... why?" Zelda said, dropping her grip on his wrist. 

"The nightmares." Sheik whispered in response, like it answered every question Zelda might have had. "They get in my head. They won't stop. I keep seeing them, over and over and over again. And they don't stop until I hurt myself, because the pain clears my head."

In response, Zelda hugged him. "I'm so sorry." To her surprise, she felt a little choked up. Gods, she felt like she'd failed him. 

At least he hadn't tried to-

No.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Sheik said, awkwardly patting her back. 

"Yes, I do. You're my brother, and I'm supposed to look out for you. You're hurting yourself, but you don't seem to care whether you live or die. I'm not the only one who cares about you, Sheik! If you died..." Zelda trailed off, unwilling to finish her thought.

"It would be for the best if I died, Zelda." Sheik said, stepping out of her hug. 

In response, Zelda slapped him.

"You're a fucking idiot if you think that's true, Sheik! You're so much stronger than you think you are! I know you can get through this. You will get through this. But, please, don't push everybody away." Zelda exclaimed. 

"I'm not pushing anyone away!" Sheik protested. 

"Bullshit! You've hardly spoken to me for a week, and I know what you did to Corrin. He doesn't deserve that! You should at least go apologize!" Zelda was almost yelling now. 

Sheik's face drained of color, and he looked like he'd seen a ghost. 

"How did you...." Sheik whispered, unable to even finish the question. 

"I had to go talk to him, because you won't even speak to me. And damn it, Sheik, I wish you would have told me sooner! Why'd I have to find out that you got kissed from somebody else?" All the frustration of the past few days could be heard in Zelda's voice, and in the back of her mind she felt bad for Sheik. But then again, he deserved it, so she dismissed the thought. 

"I'll tell you why." Sheik's voice was scarily calm, considering he was being yelled at. 

Wait.

What?

He would?

"Really?" Zelda asked. 

"I don't want to hurt him. The people close to me suffer and I can't do anything to help, because it's my fault. I see him killed in my dreams, and I want to do whatever I can to prevent that from happening in the real world." Sheik said. The only thing that betrayed what he was feeling was the way his hands shook. 

Something told Zelda that Sheik wasn't being entirely honest, but at least it was something. 

"So you just run away from him?" Zelda asked, trying her best to control her temper.

"Yeah. I ran away. I'm a fucking coward. You think I don't know that? But I had no choice." Now Sheik was starting to get mad, which meant there had to be more to the story than he was letting on.

"You always have a choice, Sheik." Zelda responded.

Sheik turned away from her. 

_"I don't know if I can choose anymore, Zelda."_


	16. NORMAL EXPERIENCES.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of underage drinking.

Usually, Link was a chill guy. But the events of the last few days had been... trying, to say the least.

First, a week and three days ago, the group had been rescued.

Then, also a week and three days ago, they were reintroduced to their families.

Lastly, Zelda had come to him basically furious, ranting about how her brother was the most stupid idiot on the planet.

That had been last night, and Link was still puzzled about it. At breakfast this morning, Sheik and Zelda refused to talk to each other. How was he supposed to fix this mess, if he didn't even know Sheik all that well now?

Before, when Sheik and Zelda fought, they'd always go back to being best buds in a day or two. Now, it seemed like there was a rift between them that wasn't going to be easily repaired.

Needless to say, breakfast was an awkward, tension-filled affair.

Well, until Shulk popped into the dining room that the group was forced to eat in each morning. Lunch and dinner were up to the individual, but breakfast was mandatory attendance.

"Good morning! I hope the boys are ready to go on an adventure with yours truly!" Shulk exclaimed.

Caeda was right behind him, and she rolled her eyes. "What Shulk is trying to say is that you boys are going to go out and explore the city with him. Ladies, you're coming with me. And before you ask, this is to prevent any straight couples eloping while we're on this field trip. Although, gay couples, go right ahead."

Link could have SWORN that Caeda was looking directly at Corrin and Sheik when she said that. Or maybe it was just his imagination.

Either way, that comment seemed a bit specific.

"Thanks, Caeda." Shulk commented sarcastically, before going back to his usual cheerful self. "Anyways! If you guys are ready, we can get going right now."

Marth, Robin, Ike, and Corrin stood up pretty quickly. Sheik stood up a bit more hesitantly, leaving only Link still sitting. He stood up soon afterwards, since he didn't want to be left out of this.

"Great! Looks like everyone is going! Follow me." Shulk exclaimed, grinning and heading out of the room.

More following. More being told what to do.

It made Link angry.

Or maybe it was just the sleep deprivation talking. He hadn't been sleeping well since arriving here. Honestly, Link doubted anybody had slept well in ages. It was hard to sleep at the Compound, and it was hard to sleep here... would he ever truly be able to rest?

Gods, now he's getting sentimental.

Get a grip on yourself, Link! Clearly you need to try harder to get more sleep.

Either way, Shulk was leading the six boys on an adventure, which was something that seemed natural to Link. Almost like adventure was in his blood.

Well, he supposedly had a hero's blood in his veins because of his Gift, right?

Was it too much to think that he was born to explore?

Yeah, probably. He must be high. Had someone snuck some drugs into his breakfast this morning?

Link was so lost in his own thoughts that he hardly noticed when Ike tapped him on the shoulder. It took Ike literally saying Link's name to get his attention, and even then the blond boy seemed distracted.

"Link. Are you even listening to me?" Ike asked, sounding a bit exasperated.

"I'm sorry, what?" Link asked, startled back to the present now.

"I was asking if you were excited to see the city." Ike replied.

"Of course!" Link exclaimed. "Who wouldn't? I've been feeling a little cooped up in here, anyways."

At first glance, the city seemed just as intimidating as it had one week ago. But as Link stood there, trying to take it all in, he felt... at home. He didn't quite know how to explain it, but something about the hustle and bustle of Ebonfell seemed normal to him.

"Alright boys, follow me! We're going to stop at my personal favorite place in the city first, and then make the rounds and see all the major sights! After all, we've got ten years to catch you guys up on. Hopefully something sparks a memory or two in ya!" Shulk said, then turned to the right.

It was a quick walk, no more than three minutes. A brightly lit, cheery seeming shop seemed to be their destination, as Shulk lead the group towards it.

"This is Delfino Dumplings and More! AKA my favorite place in the whole city. The owner, Peter Pianta, is a wonderful little dude. His family, the Piantas, owns the Delfino brand of stores. They're all filthy rich, but all of them are great people." Shulk explained, ushering the others inside. "The food here is just divine."

A short man wearing a nametag that said "Peter Pianta" was behind the counter, and when he looked up and spotted Shulk and company, his eyes widened.

"Shulk! Good to see you. Brought some friends, I see." Peter exclaimed, looking over the group quickly.

"Good to see you too, Peter! I'd like to order my usual, and then I'll get the sampler for my friends." Shulk said, fistbumping the short man.

"You got it! Say, I haven't seen them around before. Are they new here?" Peter asked, sounding puzzled.

"In a way, yeah. They all moved out of town when they were small, but they're back now." The lie sounded so smooth coming from Shulk.

Link looked over at Marth, who looked mildly upset- the way Shulk lied sounded similar to how Roy used to lie.

Roy was gone now. There was no way that lying bastard could get them now.

While Link was thinking this over, Shulk led the group to a table. He was hyping up the dumplings, which Link wasn't even paying attention to.

However, when the food actually arrived, despite it being the morning and the fact that Link had just eaten breakfast, he couldn't help but drool over the aroma of the dumplings.

Needless to say, it was the best brunch Link had ever had.

These dumplings must have been made with some voodoo magic, because they were the most delicious things Link had ever tasted. 

Shortly afterwards, Shulk was leading the group out of the shop.

"Still more to see!" He said cheerfully, as he turned to the left and was nearly hit by a car. In response, he shouted at the driver and gave them the finger. "Sorry about that! Good reminder to stay safe while crossing the roads, though."

The next location on Shulk's list was an armory, which looked surprisingly neat and well kept for the kind of building it was.

"Now, I know you guys don't actually have any money yet, but once you do get some... this is the best place to go. Plenty of high quality weapons for the best prices. Trust me, you'll want to carry at least a knife on you. This isn't called the City of Crime for no reason, you know." Shulk explained, while showing them the location. "We won't actually go inside today, since there's some other things I want to show you and that store tends to make time go by waaaay too quickly."

After the armory, Shulk showed the group a few more locations that he considered essential for surviving life in the city.

"Now, you've been given apartments by the grace of the Rebellion, but when most of you guys have recovered enough to live on your own, you'll have to find apartments of your own. Chrom will explain the expectations and whatnot when you get to that point, but for now, I'd like you to be aware of what's to come. So, here, we're passing one of the turnoffs to the residential district, commonly known as Astrohallow." Shulk commented, pointing out the street as they passed it.

This adventure was so far turning out to be more of a tour than anything else, and Link was kind of disappointed by that fact. But he assumed that Shulk knew what he was doing, so he just kept following the cheery blond boy.

A few more locations, mainly just grocery stores and whatnot, and Link was starting to get bored. Well, until Shulk stopped the group in front of a suspicious looking building labeled "One Up Club". The sun was beginning to set, which kind of surprised Link- he could've sworn it was only three in the afternoon, despite the fact that they'd set out from the Rebellion HQ at around eight in the morning.

"Well, it's about that time!" Shulk exclaimed, after checking his watch. "It's 5 pm! I'd say that you know what that means, but you're all new here."

A moment of silence, before the ever curious Robin spoke up. "Okay, I'll bite. What's so special about 5 pm?"

"That's a club." Shulk answered. "Now, one benefit of living in the City of Crime means that underage drinkers are a regular sight! Most of you are seventeen, correct?"

"All of us are seventeen." Marth said.

"Righto. Now, who wants to experience something normal for a change?" Shulk asked, grinning. He seemed like the kind of guy who did this often, but Link was kind of nervous. What if they got caught?

"Ah, what the hell. Why not?" Marth said, shrugging while he spoke.

Well, if Marth was confident, then Link would have to tough it out. No matter what he was worrying about, if Marth said it was fine, then it would be fine. It had to be. Marth was the leader, he was wise.

Shulk got them into the club just fine. The bouncer didn't even give them a second glance.

Inside, the club didn't have much light except for the colorful strobe lights and the strings of what seemed to be holiday lights, despite it being nowhere near any holidays (as near as Link could figure, anyway).

There was a central dance floor, which was shaped like a square. On the second floor, there was a balcony running along the edge of the room. At the back, on a slightly elevated platform, there was a dark haired boy who seemed to be the DJ. He didn't look older than eighteen, which struck Link as odd- sure, the club let minors in, but did they employ minors too?

Shulk seemed to notice this as well, and he laughed. "Claude must have kidnapped the regular DJ again."

Oh boy.

"Alright boys, try not to do anything illegal. I'll come get you at around midnight or so. If any of you want to leave before then, there's a coffee shop two stores down from here. Head there and wait for the rest of us, if you decide to leave." Shulk instructed, before disappearing into the crowd.

So now what were they supposed to do?

Link looked around, but most of his friends had disappeared as well. The only one still standing by him was Sheik, who looked slightly terrified by the scene in front of him. But even he forced himself to join the crowd of people, so Link supposed he'd better do it as well.

Almost immediately, Link bumped into a tall blond guy who was standing with his friends.

"Sorry!" Link exclaimed when the tall guy turned around.

"No worries, kid. I'm Dimitri. These two are Sylvain and Felix, my best friends. Ingrid is around here somewhere, but I think she went to get a drink. What's your name? You look a little lost, so you can hang out with us if you want." The tall guy said, smiling at Link.

"My name is Link. I appreciate the offer, Dimitri. Are you sure you don't mind?" Link responded.

"It's nice to meet you, Link. I don't mind, but if Felix gives you any trouble, just ignore him. He's a bit grumpy today." Dimitri said.

"When is he not grumpy?" exclaimed the red haired guy who was standing opposite Dimitri. He must be Sylvain, since there was no way that Felix would say that about himself.

"Shut up." grumbled Felix, who had navy blue hair and striking amber eyes.

This was going to be an interesting night.

././.

It couldn't have been later than eight in the evening, and yet Link was totally wasted. He'd only had like three drinks, and yet he was drunk as hell.

At some point, he'd wandered over to the bar for another drink when he spotted Corrin being harassed by some random lady with black hair and a really slutty outfit.

"Hey, lady. Back off. He's taken." Link said, because he's a hero like that.

Corrin's eyes widened, and he looked more scared of what Link had said than the fact that this lady was forcing herself on him. Hopefully that was just Link's imagination, though.

"What, is this your boyfriend?" The lady asked, sounding cross.

"Nah, he's not mine. My buddy is dating him, though. I gotta stick up for him, ya know?" Link winked at her.

"Whatever." She stalked off, leaving the two boys mostly alone.

"Link, I swear-" Corrin started saying, but Link cut him off.

"Look, I don't know what the hell is going on between you and Sheik, but you gotta figure it out. For now, that lady was trying to take advantage of you. You're lucky I stepped in, unless you wanted that." Link said.

Corrin didn't reply right away. He looked like he was thinking carefully about what he was going to say, so Link didn't mind waiting for his response.

"It's not that easy, Link. I'm almost entirely certain that I wrecked our friendship. And I was perfectly capable of handling that lady on my own. I don't need to be saved. Now, if all you came over here to do was bother me about my relationship problems, you can leave." Corrin responded.

He sounded angry.

Must be a sore topic, then.

"Relax, bro! I'm literally a god when it comes to romance." Link laughed. Gods, he's really fucking drunk.

"How much have you had to drink?" Corrin asked.

"Just a bit! Now come on, I'll help you out. What'd you do?" Link replied, trying his hardest not to start laughing again.

"I don't see why I have to tell you." Corrin grumbled.

"Dude, I could literally just go ask Zelda for the tea. She knows everything." Link rolled his eyes, feigning disappointment.

"Shut up." Corrin was really prickly for some reason. Whatever. Link was drunk and he could care less.

"Come on. Just tell me. It's not like I'm gonna go and tell everybody." Link said.

"Why does it matter to you?" Corrin shouted. Much to Link's surprise, Corrin looked like he was trying not to cry.

"Whoa. I wasn't- I didn't mean to upset you..." Link started apologizing, but even to him it sounded half-hearted and lame.

"I fucked up and now Sheik won't even talk to me! You can't even begin to help me figure this out, because it's something I can do on my own! I don't need you pity, or your words of encouragement, or even your support!" Corrin yelled, before shoving his way past Link.

Yikes.

././.

By the time midnight rolled around, Link was more than ready to go back. He'd gotten totally wasted, made a few friends, and upset one of his other friends.

Fantastic.

Corrin still looked upset about earlier, and drunk as Link may be, he still noticed how Sheik would occasionally look over at the silver haired boy with concern in his eyes. Well, concern and... something else. Link couldn't quite place the other emotion, but then again Link could barely walk.

He wasn't the only one who was totally wasted, either. Ike literally couldn't stand, and Robin was looking a bit wobbly on his feet. Marth looked like he was going to be sick, and Sheik didn't appear to be bothered by anything. Corrin was just angry, like Link had noticed earlier.

The walk back to the headquarters of the Rebellion wasn't as long as Link was expecting, which was nice, because walking made his head hurt.

Almost as soon as Link got back to his apartment, he felt horribly nauseous. He was barely able to stumble into the bathroom and to the toilet before he threw up.

And yet he had no idea what awaited him in the morning.


	17. GIRLS NIGHT OUT.

Since it would be unfair if the boys got to have fun while the girls stayed back, Samus and her friends were now wandering the streets of Ebonfell with Caeda as their guide. 

"So, you guys are going to have to catch me up on all the relationship drama because I'm honestly so confused when you're all in a room together." Caeda finally said.

Ah, there it was. Samus had been expecting that question for almost an hour.

"We'd better get some actual tea first. There's plenty to go over." Zelda said, somehow managing to keep a straight face while speaking. 

Sometimes, Samus really did admire the way Zelda could keep it together under pressure. Not that this was a high stress situation. 

Caeda led the girls into a small coffee shop. Samus didn't quite catch the name, and she made a mental note to check when they were leaving. 

It smelled really nice inside. Sure, that was a kind of odd thought to have about a place, but from the limited experience Samus had with coffee shops, they all smelled really nice. Usually they smelled like coffee, which was a bit of a no-brainer, but still. 

"I can order for you guys if you want. Just tell me what you'd prefer to drink, and I can try my best to get you something like it." Caeda offered, turning back to face the other girls. 

"Just tea for me, please. I don't really care which kind." Zelda replied. 

"I'll have coffee. No sugar or anything." Samus said.

"And tea for me as well." Lucina added. "I don't care which kind, either."

"Great. Okay, why don't you guys get a spot to sit?" Caeda motioned towards the tables before turning to go get in line. Really, there was no line, so it was more like she just walked up to the register. 

Lucina ended up picking the table, and she chose a table by the window that overlooked the street outside.

"So, Zelda, you're going to do all of the talking, right?" Lucina asked. 

"Yeah, probably. I mean, you and Samus don't know everything like I do." Zelda replied. 

"True." Lucina said. "But I thought you mostly knew about what's going on with Corrin and Sheik?"

"Yeah, but I know plenty of other things. For example, I know about the situation with you and Robin, and I know a bit about whatever Samus and Ike are doing."

"What about you and Link?" Samus asked, mostly to cover up her own embarrassment over Zelda's comment about her and Ike. 

"Shut up." Zelda mumbled, her face turning bright red. 

"I'll cover that." Lucina said, intervening on Zelda's behalf. 

"And what about Marth?" Samus pretended not to notice how Lucina actually winced when she heard her twin's name. 

"Marth is... not in the best place mentally. Roy's betrayal really messed him up." Lucina said softly. 

"But I heard from your older sister, Elice, that Caeda was his betrothed-" Zelda started saying, but Lucina cut her off. 

"Zelda, trust me. Marth doesn't even know about that yet. With that in mind, how the heck did you even find that out?" Lucina said.

"I was curious. I asked Elice about it. She told me everything I needed to know." Zelda shrugged, seemingly not comprehending that Lucina was clearly displeased by this. 

"She should not have done that." Lucina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, just try to forget about it. It's a touchy subject for Caeda. We don't need to open that particular can of worms today."

"Fine. We'll just not mention your brother, then." Zelda said, conceding the point. 

"Thank you." Lucina smiled, looking really relived that the conversation had turned away from dangerous territory. 

Good thing they'd cut their discussion short, because Caeda came back almost as soon as Lucina thanked Zelda. She was balancing a tray of drinks, yet somehow she still managed to look graceful. 

"Okay, I've got green tea for Zelda and Lucina, coffee for Samus, and hot chocolate for me." Caeda said, setting down the drinks in front of the correct person. She sat down afterwards, and looked ready to listen to all the drama that she needed to catch up on. 

Zelda studied Caeda for a moment, then said "So, Caeda, what do you want to know first?"

"First, I'd like to know what's going on with Corrin and Sheik. I mean, all the data we have on the two of them says that they're best friends. But they're avoiding each other, and when they're together, it's just awkward as fuck." Caeda responded, taking a cautious sip of her hot chocolate when she was done speaking.

"Wait, hold on. You have data on us?" Samus asked, right as Zelda was about to start speaking. Zelda glared at her, but then appeared to let it go with a sigh. 

"Well, yeah. We had spies on the inside of the Compound. Of course, we didn't know where your specific Compound was located, which was why it took so long for us to find you. We have spies inside every single Compound across the continent, feeding us data on the inhabitants." Caeda explained. 

"Why only free us, then?" Lucina asked, looking genuinely concerned. 

"Most of the time, when we try to free the inhabitants of a Compound, it doesn't go well." Caeda replied. "Scouting is dangerous. At first, it was all for you guys, but now... well, we're still sending out scouting teams to free everybody who's trapped. We can't let people suffer like that." After a moment of total silence around the table, Caeda seemed to remember that she had kind of taken the discussion off topic. "Anyways. Continue, Zelda."

"Thanks." Zelda said, nodding her head in acknowledgement. "As I was saying, before my dear friend Samus so rudely interrupted me-"

Samus interrupted Zelda again. "Actually, you hadn't even started speaking. So it was more like I cut you off."

"Whatever." Zelda rolled her eyes. "Same difference."

"Not really." Samus said.

"Enough! Zelda, just ignore her. She's irritating you on purpose." Caeda said, sounding a bit irritated herself.

Zelda sighed and started again. "The situation with Corrin and Sheik is complicated. Do you want the simple version or the full story that I know?" 

"Just tell me all of it. And before you ask, I swear I won't tell anybody what you tell me." Caeda responded. 

"Alright. Good." Zelda said, before continuing. "They've been best friends for literally forever. I can't remember a time when they weren't friends. Now, of course, that's changed. The way I heard it, Corrin kissed Sheik, and Sheik ran away from Corrin afterwards."

"That's tough. Poor Corrin." Caeda commented idly, sipping at her hot chocolate again.

"That's not all. I spoke to Sheik, and he's in just as bad a state as Corrin is. I can tell he's hurting himself and Corrin by doing this, but my brother can be so pig-headed sometimes! I don't think it's a case of unrequited love, but merely just two boys who can't seem to realize that the feelings are mutual." Zelda was quick to defend her brother, like usual. Samus sensed that there was more to the story, which was pretty normal. Whenever the discussion turned to her twin, Zelda always seemed like she was hiding something.

"That's some hardcore drama, if I do say so myself." Lucina commented. "I didn't really know the full story, but now... yikes."

"No kidding. It kinda makes my romantic troubles look simple in comparison." Samus remarked.

"That's because they are simple, Samus. We all know that you like Ike." Lucina said.

"Yeah, you're not exactly subtle." Zelda chimed in. 

"Even I know, and I've only seen you together a few times." Caeda said.

"So are you all just ganging up on me now?" Samus grumbled. 

"Yes." The three other girls said in unison, to which Samus merely rolled her eyes at.

She had a way to get the heat off of herself, anyway. "So, Lucina, are we just going to ignore you and Robin?" Samus asked, feigning innocence and sipping at her coffee. 

Lucina, who had been taking a drink of tea, literally spat out her tea all over Zelda. The blonde girl had the misfortune of sitting across from Lucina, and she was now covered in tea. 

"What the-" Zelda exclaimed, cutting herself off by yelping "HOT! HOT!"

"Zelda, I'm so sorry!" Lucina gasped, putting her tea down and grabbing some napkins to hand the tea-covered girl across from her. 

Zelda didn't respond, as she was too busy trying to clean herself up. Samus and Caeda were both laughing their asses off, since they both found this hilarious. Lucina kept apologizing, and the bluenette looked more flustered than Zelda did about this whole thing. 

"Oh my gods, Lucina, I'm never going to let you forget this." Samus wheezed, wiping a tear out of her right eye. 

"Same here!" Caeda laughed. 

"Anyways, uh, there's nothing to know about Robin and I. Nothing is going on, I swear." Lucina stammered. It was a weak argument, and she looked like she knew it.

"Really? Then why'd I hear that you were cuddling Robin the other day?" Zelda asked. She appeared to have given up on trying to get the tea off of her shirt, but it looked like she'd gotten most of the tea off her face and arms. 

"W-who'd you hear that from?" Lucina tried her hardest to cover up her stutter, but she isn't a great actor under pressure. 

"Sheik. And Ike, actually." Zelda smirked at the bluenette across from her and took a cautious sip of her own tea. 

"In my defense, I was comforting Robin, since he'd gone to ask Marth for permission to ask me out-" Lucina stopped talking and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Damn it!"

"I KNEW IT!" Zelda exclaimed, a bit too loudly. A couple who had previously been kissing stopped and looked over at Zelda with annoyance in both of their eyes. Finally, the orange-haired man stood up and murmured something to the black-haired man, and they both left the coffee shop. 

Casually, Samus gave the couple the finger as they walked out. Kissing in public like that was gross, no matter who you were. Samus swore she'd never be one of those people, if she ever managed to get a boyfriend.

_Or a girlfriend._

Almost immediately after that thought popped into her head, Samus pushed it away. No thanks. She didn't want to think about that. 

"Shhhhh!" Lucina frantically shushed Zelda, looking around and hoping that nobody else was staring at the four girls. 

Unfortunately for her, there were plenty of other people in the shop who were staring at them now. 

"Zelda, it's honestly not a big deal! Besides, Marth said no. So it's not like our relationship is going any where past being friends for now..." Lucina said. She did not look happy about that.

"So do you admit that you want to be more than friends with him?" Samus asked. 

Meanwhile, Caeda was just kind of taking it all in with a smirk on her face. Yes, this was interesting. It had to be much more fun than whatever the boys were doing right about now.

"...yes." Lucina mumbled, covering her face with her hands. She must be redder than a tomato by this point. 

In all honesty, Samus felt bad for her, so she decided to change the topic. "Your turn, Zelda. What about you and Link?"

"There's nothing there. We're friends. And I'm almost entirely certain he isn't even looking for love in the first place, so even if I wanted to be his girlfriend, it wouldn't happen." Zelda was a much better liar than Lucina, but even so, she couldn't quite sell the lie. 

Not like Roy could.

Stop it, Samus! You're supposed to be forgetting about that traitorous bastard. It's much better if you just forget him. 

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Caeda said, pointing her index finger at Zelda like she was shouting "OBJECTION!" in court or something. 

"Admit it, you want to date him." Samus added with a smirk. 

"No." Zelda said, sticking her tongue out at the both of them. "Can I not just be friends with him?"

"No." the other three girls said in unison. Samus and Caeda high fived each other after speaking, and Lucina looked like she was finally starting to recover from being teased about her crush on Robin. 

"Whatever." Zelda grumbled. "Anyways, that about sums it up. Anything else you want to know?" 

"No, I think I'm good. We've still got plenty of time left, but knowing Shulk he's probably gonna take the boys out to a club. So we could head back and start preparing for that, or we could go out and browse the stores for a little while." Caeda replied.

"Do we have any other options?" Zelda asked. "Those seem a little limiting."

"Well... none that I've exactly got permission for. Then again, Shulk likely doesn't have permission to take the boys to a club, so I suppose we could bend the rules a bit." Caeda sounded almost a bit mischievous as she spoke the last sentence, which led Samus to believe that the four girls would get to do something crazy. 

"Lead the way, Caeda!" Zelda exclaimed. 

Caeda nodded and stood up. She waited for the other three girls to stand up before heading towards the door. 

"So where are we actually going to go?" Lucina asked.

"It's a surprise." Caeda winked. 

As they were exiting the coffee shop, Caeda hesitated and turned around to face them once more. 

"Oh, by the way, there's a formal ball coming up at the end of next month. Starting next week, all of us will be taking dance lessons to prepare." Caeda said. "I thought I'd warn you beforehand."

Wait, _what?_

"DANCE LESSONS?" Samus shrieked. But it was not out of joy.

No, she shrieked out of horror. 

"Try to contain your excitement." Caeda remarked dryly.

"I LITERALLY CANNOT DANCE!" Samus exclaimed, but it sounded more like she was yelling.

"That's why we're going to take lessons." Caeda explained.

Sighing, Samus resigned herself to her fate. Dance lessons it was.


	18. BALLROOM DANCING FOR BEGINNERS.

Ike liked to think that he was graceful. Well, he liked to think that he didn't totally trip all over himself no matter what he was doing. Unfortunately, as he discovered on the first day of dance lessons, (which had been an unwelcome surprise to begin with) he was nowhere near as graceful as he thought he was. 

He started the lesson by tripping over a lace that was just too long in his right dress shoe, which had been a requirement for some reason. 

"You have to have dress shoes on, or you'll be kicked out. Trust me." Caeda had said last night, when she told the boys about the ball and whatnot. 

So here he was now, wearing dress shoes and casual clothes, lying on the impeccably polished wooden floor of the studio that was hosting the dance lessons. 

"Oh my gods, you're such a fool!" Robin laughed, apparently too busy laughing at his best friend's stupidity to offer him a hand. 

"Don't laugh at him, Robin. I can't wait to see you do the same thing." Samus said, before offering Ike her hand. "Here. You can't do anything if you're laying on the floor."

"Thanks." Ike said, smiling at her. He then turned around and glared at Robin. "It's good to know one of my best friends appreciates me."

Robin just rolled his eyes and continued laughing. 

Soon, the group's teachers walked into the room. They were two blue-haired individuals: one male, and one female. They looked remarkably similar to each other, but Ike just brushed it off. 

"Good morning." the male teacher said. "My sister and I have been assigned to give you all dancing lessons prior to the ball next month." He didn't seem very enthusiastic about it. In fact, he looked like he'd rather be any where else.

"What my brother is trying to say is, we're your teachers! I'm Byleth, and he's also Byleth. To make things easier, just call him Seth." the female teacher- Byleth- said. 

"Is that-" Seth started saying, but he shook his head and cut himself off. "Never mind. We'll talk about that later."

He then turned his attention back to the class. "My apologies. Anyway, how about we start by having you all get into partners? Tradition says that a pair should be a boy and a girl, but it looks like we've got an unequal number here. In that case, who you choose as your dancing partner doesn't matter at all."

"A bit of advice, first: pick someone you'd be comfortable touching in a bit of an awkward way. Make sure that the person you choose is okay with this, as well. Consent is key." Byleth winked as she spoke, leading Ike to believe that this was about more than just teaching them how to dance. 

In any case, he knew who he'd like to dance with. 

"May I have this dance, Samus?" Ike asked, turning to her and offering his hand. 

Samus looked at him in surprise, but she accepted his hand without too much delay. "Of course, Ike."

A quick glance around the room showed that everybody else was partnering up. Zelda and Link were talking quietly, which didn't surprise Ike at all. Robin and Lucina were holding hands, but Ike had noticed that they'd been holding hands for a bit longer than that. Marth appeared to be taking no interest in the proceedings, and Caeda was trying to persuade him to get on his feet. Shulk was joking around with a blonde girl, and they seemed a bit too familiar with each other to be just friends. 

And then there was Corrin and Sheik.

They were standing side by side, not even looking at each other. It almost looked like they weren't even going to be partners, but as Ike watched, Corrin turned his head and said something to Sheik, who laughed a bit but otherwise didn't react. 

Yikes. 

They used to be so close, and if Ike was being honest, it was kind of sad to see how they'd become so... disconnected. 

"Does everybody have a partner, now?" Byleth asked. She seemed to be taking the lead on this lesson. Her brother seemed like he wouldn't be doing much instructing, since he didn't seem interested in the lesson in the first place. Byleth answered her own question after taking a quick look around the room. "Great, it looks like you do. Let's get started, shall we?" 

"First, face your partner. We'll show you where to place your hands next." Seth said, demonstrating by facing his sister. 

"Today, we're going to focus on walking with your partner and getting the feel for the position." Byleth added. 

"First, boys, take your partner's right hand in your left hand like so." Seth instructed, taking his sister's hand in his to demonstrate. "Then, boys, put your right hand on your partner's upper back. Really, it should be on their shoulder blade." Again, Seth demonstrated by placing his hand on his sister's shoulder. 

Ike faced Samus, feeling hella awkward already. He did his best to assume the proper position, and it felt so weird to be doing something like this. 

"Once you're in the proper position, you have to close most of the space between you two. It's hard to dance if you're five feet apart. This does not mean that you should be nose to nose, but you should be close enough for your clothes to touch." Seth explained, moving closer to his sister. 

"Now, start walking. Ladies-and gentleman- you should be moving backwards. The leading man should be walking forwards at all times. We'll start by walking in a simple circle. If you step on your partner, you're doing it wrong." Byleth said. Her and her brother started walking, demonstrating what the others should be aiming for. 

"Ready?" Ike asked Samus. Gods, she was so close to him. Maybe this was a bad idea. 

Samus nodded. 

Slowly, Ike started walking, trying to ignore how close they were and how he could literally lean in and kiss her if he wanted-

STOP IT, YOU FOOL. 

This is literally just ballroom dancing, nothing too complicated about it. You can do this. Apparently learning the tango is in two weeks. This is tame compared to that. 

"Ike, you're doing fine. Just, please, relax your grip on my hand." Samus winced. 

"S-sorry." Ike stammered. He took a deep breath and relaxed his grip, trying to make this a bit more natural.

He then proceeded to trip over his own foot. Ike fell, taking Samus with him. She landed on top of him, driving all the air out of his lungs (in more ways that one). 

Byleth came over to see what the commotion was all about. Sympathetically, she helped Ike and Samus stand up. "Try again. Ike, you're very tense. You need to relax, or you'll just end up on the floor again." 

Seth was currently helping Zelda and Link, giving them tips on how to move more fluidly together. Shulk and the blonde girl seemed to be doing just fine. Marth and Caeda also seemed like they were doing okay, even if Caeda seemed to be the one who was leading Marth rather than Marth leading Caeda. Surprisingly, it appeared as though Sheik had volunteered to take the girl's part, and he appeared to be unbothered by this. Otherwise, the two boys seemed to be doing just fine. 

That meant it was just Samus and Ike who were having trouble, really.

"I'm sorry, Samus." Ike said awkwardly. 

"You're fine." Samus coughed. "It's not every day I get squished by a hot guy."

Byleth cleared her throat. "Um, I'm still here? Try to save that for after class, ok?"

Ike and Samus both turned bright red. 

"Anyways. Try again, and I'll see what I can do to help you." Byleth said, moving past her comment smoothly. 

Ike held out his hand to Samus again, who took it and smiled a bit at him. They assumed the proper position, then started to walk. Ike focused on his own breathing, making sure it stayed steady. Of course, he had to pay attention to the rest of the room, just to make sure he didn't hit anybody. 

"Alright, good!" Byleth said, signaling for them to stop. "It looks better already. Did it feel any easier?" 

"Kind of. Dancing isn't really my strong suit, but it felt better than before." Ike replied. 

"Think of it this way: by learning how to dance, you're improving your footwork and agility. Who knows when you might need to be quick and light on your feet?" Byleth winked at him, which kind of confused Ike, but he didn't ask questions. He'd figured out that both of the dance instructors were a little odd, to say the least. 

"Makes sense." Samus appeared to understand this concept more than Ike did, so he'd just trust that she knows what she's doing. 

Byleth looked like she was going to say something, but then she stopped and held a hand to her left ear. She frowned, then looked to the front of the room. Her brother was there, and he had the same grim expression on his face.

"Alright class, could I have your attention?" Seth said, his voice carrying quite well even though he wasn't yelling. Once he was satisfied, he continued speaking. "Thank you. Now, it appears that we're going to have to cut this lesson short due to unexpected circumstances. Namely, a sudden severe thunderstorm has entered the area, and all residents of the city are being advised to seek shelter in their homes."

"Class dismissed." Byleth added, walking to the front of the room to join her brother. "Safe travels. Try not to die."

Great.

This day just kept getting better and better, didn't it?

"Oh, and you might want to stay out of the rain." Caeda said. "It's a bit toxic."

Shulk nodded grimly. "Yeah, it's best we get you guys back to HQ. Your rooms are probably going to be the safest spot for you."

With that, Caeda and Shulk shepherded the group out of the studio. The mad dash through the city was a rather unpleasant experience, as they were all wearing dress shoes and there was way too many people on the sidewalks. 

By the time he entered his room, Ike was more than ready to go to bed, despite it being around noon. Dodging people and running in dress shoes was not a good combination. Plus, he was starting to feel a bit sore from falling twice, so that was fun. 

Ike laid back on his bed and sighed. How was he going to survive another month of this torture?

Maybe torture was too strong a word. This was nothing compared to what the Headmaster had done to him and his friends. 

Well, he only had to make it through a month. Just one month, and he'd be good to go. 

He can do this. This wasn't going to be that hard. He can handle a bit of dancing. No big deal.

Ike didn't know how long he laid there, staring at his ceiling and listening to the rain lash at the window. Eventually, he did drift off to sleep, despite the time. Sleep schedule who?


	19. IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Contains mild references to underage drinking.

As much as Corrin was dreading today's dance class, there was a small part of him that was excited for it. 

Apparently, after class, Robin and Shulk had teamed up to plan a party to celebrate the gang getting their own apartments. Sure, that had happened last week, but Corrin didn't really see why it was too much of a cause for celebration. 

That was mostly because it just made it easier for Sheik to avoid him.

He was trying so hard not to let his feelings get in the way of normal life, but it was so hard. Sometimes, Corrin just didn't want to get up in the morning. It felt pathetic, how easily he'd fallen to pieces over something so trivial, but he couldn't do anything to stop himself. He'd asked his twin for romantic advice, and all she'd said was "You need to confront this mystery man, Corrin. Even if you end up getting rejected, at least you tried."

It hadn't helped much. Corrin could hardly look at Sheik now. Any friendship they had before had seemingly disappeared. 

And it was all his fault. 

Corrin had wrecked the best part of his life, and now he had to pay the price. 

He hadn't always cried easily, but now he was more sensitive than ever. 

_Get a grip on yourself. Fucking crybaby. It's not the end of the world, get over yourself._

There was a knock on the door. Corrin forced himself to get up and act happy, like he'd been doing for the past few weeks.

He was getting to be a really good actor. 

To his surprise, Sheik was waiting at the door. 

"Sheik. Good morning." Corrin said, hating how stiff his voice sounded. He tried to ignore how quickly his heart was beating, with little success. 

"You're going to be late. Marth sent me to come get you. Is everything okay?" Sheik sounded concerned, which didn't help Corrin's heart rate at all. 

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." The lie sounded hollow, even to him. 

An emotion that seemed vaguely like... sadness? flickered in Sheik's eyes for a moment, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "Are you sure you'll be up for class today? I can cover for you, if you don't want to go."

"Don't worry about it. I can go. I'm not sick, I feel fine." Corrin replied, forcing himself to smile. 

"If you're sure..." Sheik's voice was barely above a whisper. 

"I'm sure. Let's go, shall we?" Corrin pretended not to notice the stab of pain in his chest. It literally felt like his heart was breaking, but he couldn't do anything about it. 

Why did he have to go and fuck everything up?

Of course, adding on to the already terrible day Corrin was having, this was the week that they were learning the tango. 

"Alright class, I'm sure you've all been waiting for this week. You'll be learning the basic steps of the tango. If you've done any research at all into this particular dance, you'll know that it's quite... sexual in nature, once you master the steps." Seth said, in his usual monotone. 

"Due to that, I've brought my boyfriend, Dimitri, to help me demonstrate this particular dance. We aren't trying to condone incest." Byleth said, gesturing to the tall blond man at her side. 

"I've brought my boyfriend, Caspar, since I believe it would be beneficial for all of you to see what it looks like when two men dance together." Seth added. The light blue-haired man next to Seth waved. Suddenly, the nickname made sense- it must have been Byleth's ship name for those two.

Corrin looked over at Byleth. She winked at him and put a finger to her lips in the "shhh" gesture.

"Now, face your partner. Assume the normal position- left and right hands intertwined, leader's right hand on their partner's shoulder blade." Seth instructed. Both he and Byleth demonstrated, except Dimitri took the lead for his girlfriend. 

"The basic steps are as follows." Byleth said, motioning for Dimitri to start walking. The tall blond started with two slow steps forward, followed by one quick step forward and a quick step to the side. After that, he brought his left foot to his right without lifting it off the ground. Byleth mirrored his actions, but backwards- when he stepped forward, she stepped back. 

Seth and Caspar were doing the same thing, with Seth leading and Caspar following. 

"Ready?" Corrin turned to Sheik, who was still standing beside him. 

"Of course." Was that a hint of a smirk on Sheik's face? It made Corrin's heart skip a few beats, which he tried to hard to ignore. 

Gods, he was so gay.

With shaking hands that he tried his hardest to hide, Corrin took Sheik's hand and put his free hand on Sheik's shoulder blade. 

Sure, he was kind of used to being so close to Sheik by now, but it was still so hard for him to ignore the way he felt. 

He wanted things he knew was impossible, given the way Sheik was acting.

And it scared him.

His feelings scared him so much. 

"Alright, I'm going to start the step." Corrin whispered, for Sheik's benefit. 

Sheik nodded. His grip on Corrin's hand tightened a little, but otherwise he didn't seem too nervous. 

Dancing with Sheik felt right. Even if Sheik didn't seem to reciprocate Corrin's feelings, he couldn't deny that they still had incredible chemistry together. 

Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow.

The steps weren't awkward at all. 

Corrin tried to focus on anything but the way he could feel Sheik's breath against his face. 

It wasn't easy. 

He wanted to just lean in and kiss Sheik. He wanted it so badly it hurt.

For the rest of the lesson, Corrin was mostly focused on trying not to do something stupid. 

Even while Byleth and her brother led them through some of the more... interesting elements that could be added to the dance, Corrin hardly paid attention. 

When class was done, Corrin didn't want to let go of Sheik's hand.

But he did anyway, like always.

"Corrin, are you sure you're alright?" Sheik asked as they left the dance studio together.

"I told you, I'm fine." Corrin responded.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Sheik didn't know how much Corrin wanted him to help. 

_It would be great if you could just TELL me how you feel about me now. Or if you could just give me a sign that you're not interested._

_I just want you to tell me what's wrong, Sheik._

"I don't think so. Thank you for offering, though." Corrin mumbled.

Sheik looked like he was going to say something else, but then Shulk popped up in front of them.

"Hey you two! Stop it with the doom and gloom! Can't have you moping around a party. Why don't you both forget about the drama for a bit and go relax?" The enthusiastic blond exclaimed, grinning at the two of them. 

Maybe that would be a good idea. 

Shulk held the door of his apartment open, and Corrin slipped inside. He spotted Lucina standing by herself (which was a rare sight these days, since it seemed like she was usually hanging around Robin) and decided to go talk to her. 

"Hi, Corrin. How are you?" Lucina said as he walked up to her. 

"I've been better." Corrin replied, shrugging, 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lucina asked.

"Not particularly, no." Corrin sighed.

"Does it involve the situation with you and-" Lucina started saying, but Corrin cut her off. 

"Lucina, please. I don't want to talk about it. Can we please change the subject?" Corrin knew he sounded upset. But he honestly didn't care. 

It was getting harder to care about anything, honestly. 

"Okay. So, are you excited for the ball? It's happening soon." Lucina asked. She was such a sweetheart, honestly. 

"Kind of. Not really. What about you?" Corrin knew Lucina was probably very excited for it. But he pretended not to know that, because he's nice. 

Lucina nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I am! I can't wait, personally. It's going to be amazing, I can tell."

Well, if Lucina said so... it probably was going to be. 

"Alright. Has Marth gotten any better? I haven't talked to him in a bit." Corrin asked.

Now it was Lucina's turn to look a little upset. She hesitated for a moment, then said "Marth still isn't doing well. I'm worried about him. He hardly does anything anymore. I think tonight will be good for him. A little time socializing might do him a bit of good."

Corrin was about to say something, but then Shulk yelled "COULD I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE?"

Both Corrin and Lucina turned their heads to look over at Shulk, who was standing on a table. 

"Thank you! Now, I'd like to say that we've got drinks. Also, in thirty minutes, we're going to be playing a bit of truth or dare. You can go back to doing whatever you were doing, now." Shulk exclaimed. 

Great. It seemed like everything was conspiring against him today. 

Corrin said goodbye to Lucina and moved towards the coolers. Shulk was standing there, handing out drinks. The enthusiastic blond boy handed him a red plastic cup with something that smelled kind of odd inside. Shulk winked at him and whispered "Trust me, this'll help you forget for a little while." 

He shrugged and took a drink. What did he have to lose?

It tasted terrible, and it burned his throat as he swallowed. But otherwise, it was fine. Already he felt a little lighter, like a heavy weight had been taken off his shoulders. 

Needless to say, those thirty minutes passed quickly. 

By the time Corrin had drained the cup, his thoughts were a bit foggy. It was nice to not think about anything for once, though. 

Everybody had formed a circle, and it struck Corrin as odd- some long-forgotten memory was just at the back of his mind. 

After trying his hardest to recall the memory, he just kind of gave up and refocused on the circle. 

"Alright, I'll go first." Shulk said. "Zelda, truth or dare?"

"Hmm. Dare." Zelda replied.

"Zelda, I dare you to take off your shirt and keep it off for the rest of the game." Shulk snickered. Robin, who he was sitting next to, high fived him and laughed too. 

"I OBJECT." Sheik shouted. "You shouldn't make her do that! At least let her wear a tank top or something!"

"Hmm. Nah." Shulk laughed. "Sorry bro, but as soon as the game is done she can put her shirt back on."

Sheik actually looked like he was going to get up and fight Shulk, but Zelda put her hand on his shoulder. 

"Sheik, don't. It's not worth it. Don't worry, I can handle it." Zelda said. 

With that, she actually did take off her shirt. Corrin wasn't really paying attention to her, though. He was mostly just watching Sheik to see what his reaction was. 

"Well, now it's your turn to truth or dare someone, Zelda." Shulk said. Him and Robin were both still laughing, but their gaze was mostly on Link, who seemed to be trying to pretend that he wasn't staring at Zelda. 

"Link, truth or dare?" Zelda asked. 

"Dare." Link answered. 

"I dare you to kiss Marth." Zelda smirked. She seemed convinced that Link wasn't going to do it. 

Lucina choked on her cookie, and Caeda's eyes widened. 

"Ok." Link shrugged and turned to Marth, who was sitting next to him. "You cool with that, bro?"

"Sure, bro." Marth replied. 

With that, Link leaned over and kissed Marth. Both boys seemed like they were into it, which puzzled Corrin. Surely they didn't like each other like that?

Well, maybe they did. 

Link and Marth were full on making out now, and Corrin was convinced they were going to go farther until Shulk cleared his throat. 

"Ok boys, that's enough. Not that we don't love the gay here, but I think you've proven your point." Shulk said. 

Link pulled away from Marth, smirking as he did so. 

"No homo, bro, but you're a good kisser." Marth said. 

"No homo, dude, but I'd lowkey fuck you." Link replied. 

"Could we, though? No homo." Marth laughed, which was a welcome sound to hear. Corrin didn't think Marth had laughed at all since Roy's betrayal.

Zelda and Caeda just exchanged glances with each other. 

"No homo, though." Link and Marth said in unison. 

"I think you mean yes homo. That whole display looked pretty gay to me, bros." Robin commented.

Link shrugged. "It's fine. I'm not the gayest guy in the room." 

"He has a point." Ike said.

"Well, anyways, it's my turn to truth or dare someone." Link said, moving past his comment. Good, because Corrin was worried that he was going to say who the gayest guy in the room actually was. 

"Corrin, truth or dare?" Link asked.

Oh shit.

"Uh.... truth?" Corrin said, since he's kind of an idiot.

"What's your honest opinion of your best friend, Sheik?" Link had a devilish look in his eyes as he spoke, which didn't help Corrin's nerves at all. 

Sheik was looking at him with a slightly worried expression, although Corrin couldn't think of why Sheik would need to be worried.

He just had to chose his words carefully, that was all. 

"Sheik is my best friend. I couldn't think of anybody that I'd rather have at my side. And I am so grateful for him, even if our friendship isn't quite what it used to be. So, thank you, Sheik. I don't think I thank you enough." Corrin said, smiling across the circle at him. 

_I forgot to mention that I'm in love with you. No big deal, right?_

Everybody was silent. 

"Lucina, truth or dare?" Corrin asked. 

"Truth." Lucina answered confidently. 

"Who'd you rather marry: Link or Samus?" Corrin asked.

"Ummm... Samus, I suppose. She's pretty fun to hang out with. No offense, Link." Lucina replied.

"None taken." Link laughed. 

Corrin pretended not to notice how Sheik got up and excused himself shortly afterwards. 

Just like he pretended not to notice how much his heart ached to see Sheik running away again.


	20. THE BROKEN.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains mentions of suicide, rape, and torture. Sheik didn't think that emotions were supposed to hurt this much.

Sheik didn't think that emotions were supposed to hurt this much. 

After all that had happened, he was still taken aback by how much he felt. 

Some people seemed to think that he had a heart of stone.

Gods, he wished that was true. 

If only so the pain would go away. 

Sheik sat at his desk and crumpled the letter draft. He tossed it over his shoulder, and it joined a pile of similarly crumpled unfinished letters. 

An envelope labeled "Zelda" sat on the desk beside the spare paper. He'd managed to finish a letter for her, but for whatever reason he was having trouble writing one for Corrin. 

_Dear Corrin..._

_I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me. I can't seem to find the words to describe it._

Tonight was the night, and yet he couldn't seem to find the courage to actually do it. 

Tonight was the night he'd decided that he couldn't stand this suffering anymore. 

With an aggravated sigh, Sheik stood up from his desk. 

Zelda's apartment was close. 

He exited the apartment he'd been given and started the walk to his twin's apartment. 

It really wasn't far. He was there within five minutes, which was almost enough time to talk himself out of the next step. 

Carefully, making sure he was quiet, he slipped the envelope under the door. 

It felt odd to be doing this, but he couldn't care less. This way, he wouldn't have to see Zelda's face as he told her _everything_ that had happened. 

This way, he wouldn't have to disappoint her face-to-face. 

Corrin's apartment was about fifteen minutes away, which was more than enough time for him to chicken out.

_Dear Corrin..._

_I hate to do this to you. I know you probably won't understand my decision, and I'm sorry for that. But please, know that it is not your fault._

The walk to Corrin's apartment seemed like it took an eternity and a blink of an eye at the same time. Sheik's anxiety levels rose with each step he took, until he nearly turned around and went home. 

Something kept him moving forward. 

He didn't quite know what that something was, but it kept him moving forward all the same. 

Finally, he reached Corrin's apartment.

He was so close.

Almost as if he was in a dream, he raised his right hand and knocked three times.

"Be right there." Corrin said, although his voice was muffled because of the door. 

True to his word, Corrin opened the door shortly afterwards. His silver hair was a mess, which was honestly kind of adorable. 

"Sheik, are you..." Corrin trailed off as he took in Sheik's appearance.

Sheik knew he looked terrible. 

He'd hardly slept at all the past week or so, and the anxiety that was gnawing at his stomach was probably written all over his face. He was just too tired to care, or to maintain the mask he'd always worn. 

"I have to talk to you."

Wordlessly, Corrin stepped aside and allowed Sheik to enter his apartment. The silver-haired boy closed the door and led Sheik to the central living space. 

"I won't interrupt. Just tell me what you need to say, Sheik." Corrin whispered.

The way he said it made Sheik's heart ache. 

"Thank you." Sheik mumbled. He was already finding it hard to breathe. This was not a good sign. "I suppose I should start off by saying that I'm not quite certain when I fell in love with you. I just... realized it, I suppose."

Corrin's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. 

"I didn't tell anyone, of course. But somehow, the Headmaster found out. And when they found out, the wrath they brought down upon me was twice as bad as it should have been, because somehow they found out that I'm genderfluid as well as gay." Sheik took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. His hands were shaking already. 

This wasn't going to be easy.

"You know that they beat me. You know that they whipped me. I almost died because of who I am. Physical scars can heal, but mental scars... those don't go away easily. Since they thought that I'd be getting off easy if they didn't do anything other than beat me within an inch of my life, they decided to torture me psychologically." Sheik closed his eyes and tried his hardest not to give in to the memories that were threatening to overwhelm him. 

Gently, Corrin took Sheik's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. 

"First, they planted images in my head of my friends dying. I don't know how they did it. Their Gift must have something to do with it. But those images are exactly what I see every night. Over and over again, I'm forced to watch you die. I watch you and Zelda die, and each time it hurts more." Sheik was trying so hard not to cry. Still, a single tear slipped down his cheek. 

True to his word, Corrin didn't say anything. He looked like he wanted to, but he stayed silent. 

"Secondly, they told me that I was worthless. That I was nothing. That I was unnatural, dirty, and wrong for being who I am. They called me horrible names, and just when I thought they were done, they brought out one of their Caretakers." This part was probably the hardest for him to remember. Not that he wasn't reminded of it often, but saying it out loud...

Deep breath in, exhale. 

"They had that Caretaker rape me. I begged them to stop, but they wouldn't call the Caretaker off until I acknowledged how unnatural it was to love someone of the same sex. And while it happened, they said 'This is what you wanted, isn't it? You should be grateful that I'm giving this to you.'" Sheik literally had to force the words out. 

This was a bad idea, he shouldn't be doing this, what was he doing here-

Corrin was hugging him. 

The sudden gesture of kindness was too much for his fragile emotions to take. Sheik buried his face in the crook of Corrin's neck and cried. 

He gripped the back of Corrin's t-shirt, desperate for something to ground him and keep him from losing it. 

"I'm sorry for kissing you that day on the balcony, Sheik." Corrin whispered. "I shouldn't have done that."

"I ran away from you because I was scared and confused." Sheik mumbled through soft sobs. "I ran away from you because I didn't know how to handle my feelings, and I am so, so sorry about that." 

"Why did you push me away?" Corrin asked.

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"I thought you hated me." Corrin's laugh sounded more like a sob. "And that hurt so much more than anything else you could have done. I guess, in a way, by pushing me away to avoid hurting me, you did the exact opposite."

"I could never hate you." Sheik whispered. The fact that he had, in fact, only made things worse by trying to push Corrin away only served to deepen his self-loathing. 

_You self-centered fool. How blind must you be to not see that he was hurting too?_

Sheik tried to ignore those thoughts. Not right now. He didn't want to deal with that right now.

Corrin stepped back from the hug. Sheik took a deep breath, as the worst of the terror had passed and he wasn't crying anymore, but he still couldn't quite bring himself to meet Corrin's eyes. 

"Would now be a bad time to ask for your permission to kiss you?" Corrin asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He brought his right hand up to cup Sheik's face, guiding his eyes to meet his own. Lightly, he ran a thumb across Sheik's cheek, brushing away the few remaining tears.

Sheik shook his head. As much as what the Headmaster had beaten into him protested, he couldn't deny that he wanted this. 

Corrin's lips met his, and it was more than worth the weeks of torture he'd put himself through after the balcony. 

After a little while, Corrin pulled away. Sheik almost leaned in and kissed him again, but Corrin put a finger to Sheik's lips to stop him. 

"I think I know why you came here tonight. You were planning on killing yourself, weren't you?" Corrin asked.

There was no point in disguising it anymore. 

"I was. And if I had been able to actually write you a letter like I did for my sister, then I might be dead now."

"You're not leaving here tonight. I don't care what you think, I won't let you leave. I-I can't lose you." Corrin hesitated, then added on to his statement. "I'm not the only one who cares about you, Sheik. If you died... it wouldn't just affect me or Zelda. Please believe me when I say that you _are_ loved, no matter what you think." 

"I don't deserve you." Sheik mumbled, although he was smiling. 

Gods, he was smiling like an idiot. It had been so long since he'd believed that someone truly loved him.

"You deserve the world." Corrin replied, smiling back at him.

"I love you." Sheik's voice was barely audible, and he was blushing like crazy.

"I love you, Sheik Harkinian. And don't you ever forget that." Corrin responded, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Sheik's.

"Emotions take so much work." Sheik laughed slightly.

"Do you want to go to bed? I can sleep on the couch if you want." Corrin asked, stepping back and looking around his apartment.

"No, it's fine. I-I don't mind." Sheik didn't think it was possible for him to be more of a blushing mess, but here he was. 

"I think I'll stay up for a bit longer, but you can go to bed." Corrin said, covering his own embarrassment well. "I've got some spare pajamas, if you want to borrow those."

"Thank you. I'll do that." Sheik replied, trying not to think about how he was about to borrow some of Corrin's clothes.

Corrin grinned at him. "Of course. Now, go get ready for bed. If you're tired, I don't want to keep you up. There's plenty of time tomorrow."

"Yes, love." Sheik said, before turning and heading toward the door that led to Corrin's bedroom. 

He wasn't aware of when Corrin crawled into bed next to him, but for the first time in a year or so, Sheik slept through the night without having a nightmare.


	21. DEAR ZELDA.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of suicide.

Zelda had not been expecting her morning to be so shitty.

First, she had run out of coffee. Since her usual morning cup of coffee was what helped her feel like an actual human after she woke up, this was a problem. 

Second, on her way out the door, she spotted a white envelope with her name on it. Normally, this wouldn't bother her (she'd been getting creepy letters. She hadn't told anybody about this, of course, but the letters unsettled her all the same). 

What was out of the ordinary was the fact that the handwriting on the envelope was so familiar.

Frowning, Zelda had picked it up, only to nearly drop it again when she realized the reason why the handwriting looked familiar.

It was Sheik's handwriting.

With shaking hands, Zelda tore the envelope open. 

_Dear Zelda..._

_I'm sorry to do this to you. I suppose it's fitting that I open this note by apologizing._

_Only recently did I realize how much you've been suffering on my behalf. You've kept how bad I was secret from everybody else, and for that, I am so, so sorry. I don't think I could apologize enough, to be honest._

_You remember how we'd always say "When we're safe," correct? I hope you do, because otherwise, this is going to get real awkward real fast. Well, you're safe now. So I guess I have a few things to explain._

_First, the truth about why I was tortured so badly: I'm both gay and genderfluid. I'd say you could ask me questions, but that would be kind of hard if I end up succeeding tonight._

_Second: I was-_

Zelda stopped reading there. Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn't hold the paper, and she could hardly read through the tears building in her eyes. 

She forced herself to continue, skimming over the truth of what had happened to her poor brother. 

Her heart felt like it was being ripped in two. He'd suffered more than she could have ever dreamed, and now he was probably dead because she couldn't get through to him. 

_This isn't your fault, dear sister. There will be someone else who can fill my shoes. I love you, and I want you to be happy. Please don't grieve my death. I'm leaving behind my past, my suffering, my life._

_Bye, Zel. For what it's worth, I give Link my blessing to date you. I can't think of anyone else who could take better care of you in my absence._

_Love, Sheik._

Zelda was full on sobbing now. Gods, how could she have been so stupid? How could she have let her brother down like this?

She had to know.

She had to see if he'd actually committed suicide. 

But first... she needed to see if Link had seen him at all. 

Zelda took a deep breath, but it didn't help her calm down at all. She could hardly think, all she felt was panic.

Sheer, overwhelming panic. 

Still, she stood up. Her feet moved, carrying her out the door and down the hall. Link's apartment wasn't far away- seven minutes or so. The walk there was a blur, and at any other time she would have been concerned about the looks she was getting from random passersby. 

Zelda knocked on Link's door, holding the letter in her hand. 

Link opened the door, took one look at her expression and pulled her into a hug. 

"It happened, didn't it?" Link asked gently. 

Zelda stepped back and looked at him in shock. "Y-you knew?" 

He shrugged. "I've never seen you look so upset. The only time I ever saw you get close was the night Sheik was beaten. And, well, when someone's planning on committing suicide, it's not exactly subtle if you know what to look for."

"He left me this note last night. I didn't read it until this morning, and now he's probably dead because I was an idiot and I didn't read the note in time to go get help or stop him-" Zelda could feel the panic taking over again, and she knew that she likely wasn't making much sense right now. 

Link took the note from her hand and read it over quickly. By the end of it, he was grimacing and folding the note in half. 

"I haven't seen him. Did you check his apartment?" Link asked, becoming all businesslike. 

Zelda shook her head. "I wasn't thinking, I just came straight here." 

"Let's go look together, okay? That way..." Link didn't need to finish his thought. Zelda knew what he was trying to say. 

_That way I can comfort you if we see his body. That way you won't hurt yourself._

Sheik actually lived in the same building as Link, so the walk was quick. Still, it was long enough for Zelda to somewhat pull herself together. 

He didn't answer his door, which didn't surprise her in the slightest. 

The real surprise was when there seemed to be no trace of her brother anywhere. There was no blood, no body, no anything. Just a tidy apartment that seemed to be exactly the same as the last time she'd seen it. Zelda knew that Sheik liked to keep his things tidy, but now... it was eerie. Like nobody actually lived here, and it was just a display in a museum or something. 

"He couldn't have jumped off the balcony, because then something would be out of place." Link mused. 

Zelda was too busy worrying to think straight, so she just nodded dully. 

"So where else could he be? Did he go somewhere else to kill himself?" Link was still thinking out loud, which didn't do anything to ease Zelda's anxieties. 

"Where would he have gone, though? It just doesn't add up... Unless-" Link stopped pacing and turned to face Zelda, his face lighting up as he did so. "What if he didn't actually kill himself, and he's somewhere else right now?"

"But that doesn't make any sense, why wouldn't he have ended up killing himself?" Zelda asked. Obviously Link was waiting for that question, because he grinned and held up his pointer finger. 

"And that, my dear Zelda, is the million dollar question! But the answer to that lies within one man: our very own Corrin Akamura! Think about it: who, besides you, could have the power to stop Sheik from ending his own life?" Link exclaimed, waving his hands around to emphasize his point. 

Gods, she was stupid. Of course. Why hadn't she thought of that sooner? 

"So, are we going to Corrin's apartment next?" Zelda asked, trying to ignore the fact that he'd called her his dear Zelda. 

"Naturally!" Link exclaimed. "Come on, let's go! I want to see if I'm correct."

This was starting to feel like a bit of a wild goose chase. How inconvenient. Zelda felt like she'd been up for hours, but it had only been like thirty minutes at the very least. 

All things considered, this was definitely not how she had been expecting her morning to go. 

Link seemed to be doing his best to keep her from falling too far down the spiral of self-loathing thoughts that Zelda was trapping herself in, but it wasn't really working. Nothing could convince her that she wasn't a failure. 

As luck would have it, Corrin appeared to be out on an errand, and the two blondes bumped into him just outside of the main apartment building that he lived in. 

"Good morning. How are you guys doing?" Corrin asked, smiling politely at the two of them. He didn't seem to notice the panic that must have been written all over Zelda's face, which was odd considering that he was usually so observant. Maybe he was just distracted?

Zelda opened her mouth to say something, but Link cut her off. 

"Oh, I'm doing great. How are you?" Link said, smiling at Corrin but elbowing Zelda in the ribs and hissing "PATIENCE, YOU FOOL!"

She elbowed Link back, sticking her tongue out at him and _almost_ managing to put her worries about her brother aside. 

Almost. 

"Good to hear. It's a bit early for you to be up and about. What's the occasion?" Corrin asked.

"Not much. I mean, if you count can count Zelda literally dragging me around the city as no big deal." Link shrugged. 

"Whatever." Zelda grumbled, but she knew Link was just teasing her, and for some reason she couldn't get the dorky little smile off her face.

Corrin watched the two of them, a little smirk on his face. "So, lovebirds, I hate to cut the conversation short, but I really have to get back to my apartment." 

"And why would that be?" Link asked, smirking right back at the silver haired boy.

"Oh, no reason." Corrin laughed, but it sounded a tad sheepish. What did he have to hide?

"Alright, enough with the games! Corrin, where the hell is my brother?" Zelda shouted, because she's tired and worried and totally sick of these mind games. 

The funniest part was Corrin's reaction, since he looked like a deer caught in headlights- not that Zelda knew what that analogy was, but still. 

"He's fine! He's back at my apartment, there's no need for you to worry-" Corrin exclaimed, stumbling over the words a little. 

"Really? Then I'm sure you have nothing to be worried about! Why are you so nervous all of a sudden?" Zelda said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. 

He actually flinched away from her, but he recovered quickly. "You're terrifying when you're mad, that's why!"

"Mad? Oh, I'm not mad at all." Zelda laughed. 

"You're fucked, Corrin." Link said. He looked a little afraid of Zelda's wrath as well, to be honest. 

"Look, I can prove it! Just- just come with me, okay? He's fine, I swear." Corrin ran a hand through his hair, which made it stick up in about a hundred different directions. 

She didn't bother replying. The trio walked back to Corrin's apartment in an uneasy silence, despite Link's awkward attempts at trying to start a conversation. At some point, Zelda noticed the bag that Corrin was carrying- it looked like it didn't have much inside it. What could he possibly have gone out to get?

When they arrived at Corrin's apartment, he fumbled with the key for a bit and very nearly dropped it before managing to unlock the door. 

Sheik was sitting on Corrin's couch, looking like he'd woken up not that long ago. His eyes widened a bit when he saw Link and Zelda standing with Corrin, but otherwise he didn't look too surprised. He even _smiled_ at the three of them. Zelda was actually shocked by this- Sheik hardly ever smiled. Especially not since the incident. 

"There. See, I told you he was alive and well." Corrin said, setting the bag down on the small table in the kitchen. 

"I don't know about the well part yet, but yes, I'm still breathing." Sheik sighed and stood up. 

"What the hell, dude?!" Zelda exclaimed. 

"Zelda, I can explain-" Sheik started saying, but Zelda cut him off. 

"No, Sheik, I don't want to listen to your explanations." Zelda knew she was being unreasonable, but she was tired and angry and she probably deserved to yell at him for putting her through so much stress. "Do you have any idea how stressed out I've been? I-" Her eyes narrowed. Wait a minute. Was that a new shirt? Suspicious. "Where the hell did you get that shirt?"

Sheik's hesitation told her everything she needed to know. 

"I can't believe you. Gods above, you're an idiot!" Zelda shouted. 

"I won't bother apologizing. I knew what I was doing." Sheik didn't sound upset, but he didn't sound regretful either. 

"Zelda, maybe you're being a bit harsh-" Link started, but he fell silent when he saw the look on her face. 

"I thought you were dead, you idiot!" Zelda's hands were shaking. 

"That was the plan. Of course, I'd actually be dead right now if I'd been able to finish the letter that I was going to write to Corrin." How could he be so calm about this? Didn't he realize how important he was? 

Zelda walked up to her brother and slapped him across the face. "Don't you see that suicide isn't the answer to anything? It won't do anything except hurt others! Wake up, Sheik. When will you see that this is just as difficult for the rest of us? When will you see that you aren't alone?"

Sheik held a hand to his jaw, wincing as he did so. "Damn."

"That's enough." Corrin stepped between her and Sheik, looking a little bit pissed off. "You don't need to be so hard on him."

"No, he needs it. Trust me. He won't listen, otherwise." Zelda said, trying to get her temper under control. 

"But do you think hitting and insulting him is going to do any good? Think about what you're doing, Zelda! I know you're stressed, but taking out your anger on him isn't going to get you anywhere!" Corrin said, desperately trying to reason with her.

Link rested a hand on her shoulder. "He's right. Zelda, please. Calm down."

She sighed and relaxed her hands, stepping back as she did so. 

_You're no better than the Headmaster now. You actually hit him, and now he hates you. Fool._

Her hands were still shaking, but now it wasn't from anger. 

"I'm- I'm sorry, Sheik. You didn't deserve to get hit." Zelda mumbled. 

"It's fine. I've had it worse." Sheik shrugged. "You should probably go get some rest. I can tell you're exhausted. Link, would you make sure she actually goes to sleep when she gets home?"

"I- yeah. I can do that." Link stammered. 

"Just... keep it PG-13, if you catch my drift. Don't push your luck, got it?" Sheik poked his head over Corrin's shoulder and winked. 

Was he... teasing? 

Either way, Zelda was ushered out of the apartment by an extremely embarrassed Link. 

"What's gotten into him?" Link mumbled while they left. 

"I'm just glad he looks happier than he has for the past few weeks." Zelda whispered. 

It was true. She was glad that he might have finally found a way to get past the demons that still haunted his steps. 

Maybe now she could finally take some time for herself, instead of worrying about her brother all the time. 

As she looked over at Link, who still looked a little flustered, she found that the idea of focusing a bit more on her own desires didn't sound so bad. In fact, the telltale quickening of her heart as she looked at the blond boy beside her told Zelda all she needed to know.


	22. OF SACRED BLOOD.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Contains a mild joke/reference to suicide.

It was the week before the ball, and Lucina was currently sitting in a dress shop located in the "chic" district of Ebonfell, trying to help Zelda figure out what the hell she was going to wear. Well, to be honest, she was mostly just reading a book and listening to Zelda complain that she was never going to find a good dress to wear. It was another ladies' trip, but this time Sheik was tagging along with Samus, Zelda, Lucina, and Caeda. 

Lucina hadn't questioned that, of course. She'd seen the little bracelet that had shown up on Sheik's wrist, and she knew what that meant. Nobody else seemed to have noticed it, but Caeda and Samus hadn't made a big deal out of Sheik tagging along with the four of them. They probably thought it was just so Sheik could surprise Corrin with their outfit. 

Today, the bracelet was orange, so Sheik really could have gone with the boys if they so chose. 

"Oh my gods, why is this so hard? It's literally just a gods-damned dress!" Zelda exclaimed. 

"Zelda, you know you don't need to find something super flashy, right?" Samus asked, sounding irritated. 

Sheik laughed and said "Yeah. I mean, flashy isn't really your style. Sorry, Zel." 

Samus was staring at them like they'd grown a second head, but Lucina just laughed quietly. It was quite odd to see Sheik smiling or even laughing, but it was a welcome change. A few short weeks with Corrin seemed to have done them some good. 

Zelda scoffed. "Oh yeah? Then what are you wearing, Sheik?"

They just smirked and crossed their arms. "Just a tuxedo. Nothing too fancy, since it's not my style. Besides, if you really want to impress Link that badly, just find something with a scandalous neckline. He won't be able to resist."

Lucina looked up from her book and sniggered at Zelda's facial expression. The blond girl was blushing like mad- seriously, her face looked like a tomato. 

"I can't believe you'd recommend your sister sexualize herself like that, Sheik." Caeda said casually, although the knowing smirk she was trying her best to hide kind of undermined her casual tone. 

"It's up to Zelda to decide to take my advice or not." Sheik shrugged and tried their best to hide a smirk as well. 

"You're a bastard." Zelda grumbled. 

"Zelda, look at it this way: Link won't really care what you're wearing once he takes you home after the ball-" Samus said innocently, inspecting her nails while she spoke. 

"Oh my gods-" Zelda started saying, but then she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, Sheik is the one with a boyfriend! Why aren't you harassing them about Corrin, huh?" 

"Because they're no fun to tease. They just tease us right back." Lucina said, returning to her book. 

Sheik winked at Zelda and said "You know it's true. Now, Lucina, what's the best color to bring out Zelda's eyes if she wears little to no make-up?"

"Why are you asking me? I have no fashion sense whatsoever." Lucina responded.

"Royal blue." Caeda said, promptly saving Lucina's ass.

"Thank you, Caeda. Zelda, go look for a dress that's mostly royal blue. Samus can help you. And when you get back with a few dresses, we'll have Lucina take a look at them and see which one is the best." Sheik was really efficient when they wanted to be, apparently. 

Lucina knew exactly what Sheik meant with having her take a look at the dresses. She sighed and turned the page of her book. 

She'd probably be lucky to get out of this shopping trip without the need to take some pain meds. Lucina could basically feel her eye starting to hurt already. 

Zelda and Samus were back much sooner than Lucina or Sheik expected. Caeda had disappeared into the seemingly endless racks of dresses herself and was yet to return, so she obviously couldn't have an opinion. 

Samus was smiling, and Zelda looked somewhat confident. The duo must have found a really good dress, then. Sighing, Lucina put aside her book. 

"Let's see it." Sheik said.

Zelda held up a gorgeous royal blue gown and smiled at her sibling. "Well?"

A moment of studying the dress, and then....

"Lucina?" Sheik asked, turning to her. There was a spark of confidence in their gaze- albeit well hidden confidence. 

Gods, how long had it been since she'd seen that look in their eyes?

But, no. She was getting distracted. Her eye throbbed, and Lucina was sure that the brand in her eye was glowing faintly by now. 

"One moment." Lucina said calmly. 

She'd been told that it was odd to watch her use her Gift. The thought seemed strange to her, but it made sense considering what she had to do in order to use it. 

"Well, Zelda, you're in luck. Looks like that dress was basically made for you." Lucina winked at the blond girl. 

"I'm going to find a way to get back at you." Zelda said, poking Sheik's arm. 

"No, you won't." Sheik said, poking her back. 

Lucina's eye was aching, so she casually reached up and covered it with her left hand. She'd found that darkness was good for alleviating the pain in her eye after using her Gift. 

Samus, however, noticed the subtle movement. She walked over and sat down next to Lucina. "How's your eye doing?"

"Obviously not well." Lucina had to restrain her temper a bit to keep from snapping at Samus. Another side effect of using her Gift was an unpredictable temper. 

"You only used it once, right?" Samus asked. 

"Not quite..." Lucina said and laughed sheepishly. "I might've used it once or twice other than just now..."

"Lucina, you need to be careful. Your Gift is by far the most dangerous out of all of us, and you should know your limits by now." Samus was trying to keep her voice low, which Lucina both appreciated and disliked at the same time. 

"You sound like Marth. I'm fine, alright? I won't use my Gift for the rest of the day. I know the risks, Samus." Lucina sighed and shrugged a bit. Really, it wasn't a big deal. She could probably use it once or twice more, to be completely honest. 

But any more, and she ran the risk of losing the eye completely...

Luckily for her, the shopping trip didn't last too much longer. Caeda returned with a simple pale blue dress, and both Samus and Lucina had found dresses for themselves already. Sheik said that they had actually gone shopping on their own a few days ago, so they already had their outfit. 

After she returned to her apartment, the first thing Lucina did (besides hang up the garment bag that contained her dress in her closet) was head to the bathroom so she could take a look at her eye. 

It was much worse than she'd thought- her left eye was bloodshot and the skin around the eye was slightly swollen. 

"Well, damn." Lucina muttered. 

Maybe some eyedrops would be a good idea...

With that idea in mind, Lucina prepared to go out again. This time, she was heading towards the nearest pharmacy. 

It was a short walk, lasting around eight minutes or so. The search for some eyedrops didn't take long, since a young man with green hair and a sleepy look on his face helped her find some good ones. 

"I actually use this brand myself. Long nights spent studying really dry my eyes out." The young man had said to her, yawning as he spoke. 

Lucina had thanked him and started moving towards the register. All in all, it was a short trip, which she was grateful for. After all, less time out and about in public meant fewer confused looks directed at her eye. 

Since her head had started to throb dully, she also picked up some extra painkillers. Just in case, because Lucina believed that you could never be overprepared for anything. Which meant that she kept a lot of painkillers around. It had actually come in handy several times in the... what was it now? One month? Two months? Yeah, two months sounded about right. However long it had been, the supply of painkillers Lucina kept around had come in handy quite a few times. 

On her way back to her apartment, she took a proper dose of said painkillers, just so she could make it back and then sleep it off. 

Unfortunately for her, Robin was waiting at her door when she got back. 

"Oh! Lucina! I hope I'm not bothering you or anything. I just wanted to talk, and I didn't realize you were still out and about." Robin smiled apologetically at her. He seemingly hadn't noticed her eye yet, which was good. No need for him to get worried about her, even if he was kind of cute when he was worried.

"Just had to make a stop at the pharmacy." Lucina said. "Do you mind talking in my apartment, if it's going to be a longer conversation?"

"Oh, it's not important. You seem tired, and I can wait a little bit-" Robin stopped talking and squinted at her face a bit. "Is your eye alright?" 

"It's fine. I might've used my Gift a little bit too frequently earlier." Lucina shrugged it off. Honestly, this was tame compared to some of the stuff that had happened to her after the Caretakers forced her to use her Gift too frequently or for extended periods of time. "Robin, do yourself a favor and spare me the 'you should be more careful' speech. I kind of already got it from Samus earlier."

Robin had opened his mouth like he was going to launch into that exact speech, but since Lucina had asked him not to, he shut it. It kind of made him look like a fish out of water, but maybe that was just Lucina's pain-addled brain. 

Gods, she'd dealt with worse pain than this, but for some reason today she was just not feeling it. 

Awkward silence ensued. Neither of them was really sure what to say next. Finally, Robin seemed to gather his thoughts enough to sound like an intelligent human being when he spoke. 

"If you're sure that you're doing okay, I won't lecture you." Robin said. 

"Thank you. I appreciate it. I've gotten that lecture more times than I'd care to count." Lucina sighed and stepped towards the door, meaning to unlock it. 

She knew why she got that lecture so often, of course. 

_"You're too reckless. Lucina, please, listen to me! The way you use your Gift... it's self-destructive, and if I didn't know better, borderline suicidal!"_

_"Marth, do you honestly think I'd kill myself with my own Gift? If I was going to off myself, I think I'd do it in a cooler way. Just saying."_

_"This isn't a joke, Lucina."_

Lucina turned the doorknob, breaking herself out of her thoughts. 

"But, seriously, if you're not feeling well, I can come back later." Robin said. 

"No, it's alright. I assume you have a question for me?" Lucina asked.

"Kind of? Uh, I mean, yeah." Robin was blushing. 

Instead of responding, Lucina just kind of looked expectantly at him. 

Robin cleared his throat, clearly trying to stall so he could gather up his confidence. "W-well, seeing as it's tradition to take someone to a ball as your partner, would you be interested in going as mine?"

That was... not what Lucina expected to hear him say. Even so, she couldn't stop a grin from spreading on to her face as she nodded. "Of course!"

"Great!" Robin looked incredibly relieved to hear her positive response. So he'd actually doubted that she would say yes? Gods, he's such a dork sometimes. "I'll leave you to your rest. I hate to do it, but..."

Lucina laughed softly. "You're so odd. Don't worry, Robin. I'll be fine."

"Yes. Of course. Rest well, Luci." Robin gave her a lopsided grin and raised a hand in farewell. 

She was still smiling like an idiot after she closed the door.


	23. MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Symptoms of an anxiety attack are described.

Marth had been meaning to do this for almost two months now. Ever since he'd learned from Caeda where Pit's name had been engraved on a little headstone in one of the graveyards that dotted the city, Marth had wanted to come here. 

He owed the kid that much. 

But he hadn't been expecting _this._

A green-haired woman was kneeling next to Pit's grave, and with her was a boy who looked almost identical to Pit himself. This boy had dark hair and even darker wings. 

"Maybe this was a bad idea." Marth mumbled. 

"You can do this." Caeda looked over at him and smiled a bit to reassure him. 

Gods, why was she so nice to him? 

It's not like he deserved it.

He'd let everybody down by allowing his feelings for Roy to blind him. He'd failed his friends, and somebody could have died for it. 

And Caeda... she just kept smiling at him. She was always there, and yet...

He couldn't let her in. He couldn't risk it. Not after what Roy had done.

Marth was still trying to come to terms with Roy's betrayal. It felt like he was spending too long on it, but he couldn't stop himself. 

It had only been two months, and yet Marth knew that was nowhere near enough time. Maybe he would never be over Roy.

It wasn't just the betrayal that had hurt him. It was the fact that he himself had failed by letting Roy trick him. He had willingly believed that Roy wouldn't dare lie to him over something as big as this. 

And yet he had been wrong. 

He had been so wrong.

Marth was nowhere near done paying for that mistake. 

Maybe he never would be.

"Marth?" Caeda whispered. "Are you... are you alright?"

His emotions must have been showing on his face. How inconvenient. Now she was worried about him, and she deserved so much better than him. 

He was a blind fool. Caeda should just stop wasting her time with him and move on to someone better. 

But for her... he would face his fear. Marth nodded and took a deep breath, preparing to step forward. 

"Are you Pit's mother?" Marth asked as he stepped forwards. 

The green-haired woman looked up. "Who wants to know?"

"Marth Lowell. I was- I was one of the Lost Children." Marth held out his hand to the woman. 

"Palutena Icarus. Did you get a chance to meet Pit?" Palutena returned the handshake, but she looked shaken. 

"I did." Marth replied. "And the guy beside you... Pit's brother, I assume?"

"Yes. This is-" Palutena didn't even get to finish her sentence before the black-haired boy stood up. 

"He doesn't need to know my name. I won't associate with the bastard that got my brother killed, alright? I'm sick of you trying to pretend like everything is fine, when it isn't! Pit is gone, and this dumbass is to blame! If the Lost Children hadn't been taken, then Pit wouldn't have been drafted into the Expeditionary Corps!" The dark-haired boy yelled, jabbing a finger at Marth. 

It was honestly kind of shocking, but Marth took the vicious words without even batting an eye. After all, he'd called himself worse names. 

He made the mistake of looking into the amber eyes of the dark angel. 

Anger and pure hostility burned in those eyes. There was grief there, too. 

Marth hadn't realized that it was possible to feel even worse about Pit's death. 

"I'm so sorry." Marth mumbled. "About your brother, I mean. I swear to you, I never intended to cause him harm."

"LIAR!" the dark angel screamed. "You stand here because of what my brother did, and you have the fucking nerve to act like you had nothing to do with it? You make me sick. I wish you had died instead of Pit."

With those awful words, he ran off. The dark angel shoved Marth as he walked by, nearly knocking him to the ground. 

_Liar._

It was getting hard to breathe. Each breath felt like he was trying to swallow glass.

_Liar._ You're no better that Roy. 

You lied to that boy's face, just like Roy did to you.

Marth's breathing picked up, and the sharp stabbing feeling that came with each breath only served to make him more panicked. 

Slowly, Marth sank to the ground, curling in on himself and clutching at his head. 

Distantly, he was aware of Caeda calling his name. 

_It's a miracle that she's still trying to get you to snap out of this. Why does she care about you, anyway?_

_She's wasting her time._

_You can't trust her._

"Marth, wake up!" Caeda said. She laid a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch away from her. 

He could feel nothing but panic. Those words that the dark angel had spat at him kept replaying in his head over and over again. 

It was all his fault, really. He was a fool to think that it was anything but his fault. 

Marth hadn't realized that he was mumbling "It's my fault, it's my fault" over and over again until Caeda said something about it. 

"No, Marth. It's not your fault. That kid had no right to assume things like that." she whispered, trying to calm him down. 

He wasn't crying, but he did feel like he was going to pass out. His head was spinning, likely due from a lack of oxygen. His breaths had become quicker and shallower as he kept spiraling down, and the overwhelming panic clouded his brain. He couldn't think; all he heard besides Caeda's desperate attempts to cam him down were those nasty words. 

"Yes it is, it's my fault, I let him trick me and people got hurt." Marth mumbled, merely voicing the thoughts going through his head. 

"Look at me." Caeda said. 

Hesitantly, Marth lifted his head to look at her. 

"It's not your fault. You didn't know. How can you be blamed for something that was out of your control? You are not what that kid said you are. He had no right to say that kind of stuff, even if he's grieving the loss of his brother. You made some mistakes, yes, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person." Caeda said, gripping Marth's shoulders in an attempt to steady him. 

She was so nice to him. Why? He didn't deserve it. 

_Exactly. She's too good for you._

"Why are you... why are you so nice to me?" Marth murmured. He still felt panicked and anxious, but it was slowly fading away. Well, he wanted to think it was. 

That wasn't really the case, as he could still hear that little voice that always showed up whenever he was like this. 

"Because everybody deserves a friend. Even people who don't think they deserve one." Caeda responded, giving Marth a little smile. 

Even the little voice in his head didn't know how to respond to that. 

Slowly, he returned the smile.

It was nowhere near his usual smile, but it was something. 

Suddenly, Palutena cleared her throat, which startled Marth since he was only just starting to get over the wave of anxiety that had accompanied the dark angel's accusations. 

"I would like to say that I am so sorry for my son's actions. He had no right to say that to you. It's just, the loss of Pit has been so hard on him... and he's started acting up instead of talking it out." Palutena explained. She looked more than a little awkward, which only made this whole encounter more awkward than it already was. 

"Are you making excuses for his behavior?" Caeda asked calmly, once she'd helped Marth get back on his feet again. 

"No, of course not, but I would ask you to see things from his perspective-" Palutena started saying, but Caeda silenced her with a look that said "just stop talking."

Marth was just tired. Of course this whole visit had been a bad idea. He honestly should have trusted his own instincts and not followed through with it, but here he was. "Caeda, let's go. This isn't worth fighting over." 

Surprised, Caeda looked back at him. After a moment, she nodded. "Alright. Would you like me to walk back to your apartment with you, or would you like to do it on your own?" 

Normally, Marth would have wanted to be alone. Especially after what had just happened. But now, he found himself wanting to be around Caeda. 

"I'd like you to walk back with me." Marth answered. Then he looked at Palutena and sighed. "Look, Palutena, I don't blame your son for what he said. Just... don't try to contact me or my friends again, okay?"

Palutena bowed her head in acceptance. "I won't. You have my word." 

With that, Marth turned and led the way out of the graveyard. Caeda followed him after a moment, where she appeared to be debating adding on to his closing statement to Palutena.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Caeda scoffed. "Gods, I can't believe her! And her son too! Honestly, he's lucky that I can't legally do anything against him because he's a kid."

"Caeda, it's not a big deal. Seriously." Marth said, wincing as he heard the exasperation in her voice. She really didn't need to get so worked up. It's not like he just had an anxiety attack over being compared to Roy or anything. 

Caeda turned to look at him, an incredulous expression written all over her face. "Not a big deal? Are you serious? Marth, you deserve to be treated better than that! I understand that you and that kid are hurting right now, but just laying down and accepting that kid's vicious words isn't the right thing to do!" 

"I see where he's coming from. And honestly, I've told myself similar things anyway. It's not like I can't take that kind of thing." Marth shrugged. "But, please, promise me that you won't try to take any drastic action against that kid?"

"...Fine." Caeda replied, sighing. Then, quietly, she added "But only because you asked me to."

"Thank you, Caeda." Marth gave her a half smile, grateful for her promise not to hurt the kid later. 

The rest of the walk back to Marth's apartment was filled with a few attempts at a conversation punctuated by bouts of awkward silence. 

When they were about five minutes away from his apartment, Marth remembered that the ball was literally in three days. And he still didn't have a date. Was a date even necessary? 

"Do I need to have a date?" Marth asked, not really caring that it was a random question. 

Caeda looked startled by this, so she didn't respond right away. "For the ball?" she asked, still trying to gather her thoughts again. 

"Yeah." Marth replied. 

"Well... no. Technically speaking, you don't need to have a date. However, this kind of event is something that inevitably leads to a lot of couples dancing together. For that reason, it's usually suggested that you have one. But it's not a requirement." Caeda explained. 

Marth thought about the new information for a second. Soon, he reached a logical conclusion. He didn't really want to be left standing off to the side all night, so he'd have to find a date. 

There was a candidate right next to him, after all. 

"Is that so?" Marth asked, stalling for time.

"Yes." Caeda responded. 

"Will you be my date, then?" Marth asked, deciding that it was better to just go for it. No hesitation.

"Yes, o-of course." Caeda looked like she hadn't been expecting the question, but she was overjoyed to hear it. It took her a second to process what had just happened, but slowly a grin broke out on her face. 

And if he was being honest, seeing that smile on Caeda's face brightened Marth's day immensely.


	24. THE BALL, AT LONG LAST.

Link straightened the collar of his dress shirt for the fiftieth time in three minutes. He was getting ready for the ball at his apartment, since it had been decided that all the boys would meet up there beforehand. 

He was basically a nervous wreck, but he was managing to keep it together. Gods, why was he so nervous for this? It was just a ball. Nothing special.

It wasn't like he needed to impress anybody, right?

"Link, you look stressed. What's up?" Sheik asked, looking a bit concerned about him. 

"I don't even know why I'm so stressed. I guess I want to make a good impression on Zelda?" he responded, sighing and very nearly running a hand through his hair. At the last second, he caught himself. He didn't want to mess up Robin's hard work. 

"You'll impress her, trust me. You've got nothing to worry about, okay?" Sheik patted him on the shoulder. 

Link took a deep breath. "You're right. I have nothing to worry about." 

"That's the spirit! Now, it's almost time to go. Ready to join the others?" Sheik asked, giving him a slight smile. 

"Hell yeah." Link grinned, hoping that acting confident would actually give him some confidence. 

Marth was talking softly with Robin, seemingly telling him something rather important. Knowing those two, it probably had something to do with Lucina. Marth was probably just looking out for his sister, and Robin was making sure that he didn't upset Marth by overstepping his boundaries. 

Meanwhile, Ike was muttering something to himself while he wrestled a bit with his tie. Knowing him, he was probably cursing the tie's manufacturer. Shulk was watching Ike struggle, seemingly finding it amusing before deciding to step in and help the poor guy out. Corrin was messing with the sleeves of his tuxedo, and he appeared to be trying to put on cufflinks. Slowly, Sheik shook their head and wandered over to their boyfriend to help him out. 

Link watched the two of them talk softly for a moment while Sheik fixed Corrin's cufflinks, then he looked away awkwardly when the conversation appeared to get more personal. 

It was adorable to see the two of them so happy together, but Link couldn't help but feel a little jealous of what they had. He wished that he had something like that. 

_Preferably with Zelda, but ya know. That's probably not gonna happen. I bet she's interested in someone like Ike._

Sighing, Link shoved those thoughts out of his mind. If Zelda really was interested in somebody else, so be it. He'd find somebody else eventually. 

"Okay, is everybody ready?" Marth asked, clapping his hands to get their attention. 

In response, Link and the others nodded. 

"Great. Let's go, shall we?" Marth said, walking over to the door and opening it. 

He held the door for his friends, and when they were all in the hallway, Marth nodded to Shulk. 

Shulk gave him a thumbs-up and then turned to face Fiora's apartment, which was near Link's apartment. 

"Alright ladies, we've got you knights in shining armor here to escort you to the ball! Well, minus Sheik and Corrin. Those two are kinda doing their own thing. And none of them are actually wearing armor." Shulk called, placing his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. 

Suddenly, Link wanted to run. Just turn around and escape. That would be easier than doing this, right? Right. 

Samus entered the hallway first, and Ike stepped forward to meet her. He held out his hand, and she accepted it. Together, they started walking down the hallway. The group would meet up in the lobby of the apartment building, and then from there transportation was a bit up in the air. Apparently Shulk and Caeda were planning something, but it had been kept very secret so far. 

Link didn't know if he could take much more. He was about to just leave when Zelda appeared in the doorway. 

His feet wouldn't move, but someone (probably Sheik) shoved him gently to get him to move. 

As soon as he was moving, all of his previous worry disappeared. 

"You, uh, look great." Link said, trying to sound smooth but kind of failing. No worries, he'd redeem himself later. 

"So do you." Zelda smiled at him, and Link nearly had to look away. He was certain his face was bright red, but did that matter? Probably, considering Zelda's older twin was watching the two of them and probably wouldn't take kindly to seeing Link embarrass himself over their sister. 

"Ready to go, then?" Link asked, trying not to dwell on how good she looked in that blue dress. 

Zelda nodded, and he offered her his hand. She took it, and together the two of them followed Ike and Samus down the hall. 

He wasn't nervous anymore. He could do this. 

The others didn't waste time getting down to the lobby as well. Shulk, Fiora, and Caeda (with Marth following behind her almost like a little lost puppy) led the group outside, where a sleek black car was waiting. 

The window rolled down, revealing a purple-haired man with just a touch of purple eyeshadow and gorgeous lavender eyes.

"Did you call for a ride, Shulk?" The driver asked, smirking a bit while he spoke. 

"Yes, I did. Thanks, Yuri. I appreciate it." Shulk replied, smiling politely back at him. He turned to the others and said "This is my friend Yuri. He's going to drive us over to where the ball is being held. Say hi, Yuri."

Yuri waved. "Hello. Nice to finally meet you guys in person." 

"Well, with introductions out of the way, get in the car. We're wasting time, and we wouldn't want you guys to be late to the ball where you're the main event." Shulk clapped his hands once and then opened the door of the car. 

The car ride wasn't short, but it wasn't long either. It was somewhere in-between, which was weird. Link was trying not to think too much about how close Zelda was to him, and how gorgeous she looked...

"We've arrived! Go enjoy yourselves, friends. You've earned it." Yuri said as he pulled up to the large building where the ball was being held. 

Getting everybody out of the car was a bit of a process, but when it was finally finished Link was relieved for the fresh air. It helped clear his head a bit. 

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it. You'll be here when it ends, right?" Shulk said, pausing to give Yuri a high five through the open window. 

"Of course. I might usually be a taxi driver, but I didn't get so successful by letting my clients down. I'll be here." Yuri replied, returning the high five.

As Yuri drove off, Shulk turned back to the group and grinned. "So. Judging by my watch, we've got about three hours until the big announcement happens. You guys can just hang out and dance a bit while you wait, okay? Caeda and I will come get you when it's time to go over to the stage thingy."

Caeda sighed. "Shulk, it's just the front of the dancing area. It'll make more sense when we get in there, I promise." 

With that, the group was free to do whatever they wanted. Naturally, they kinda split off into pairs. Sheik gave Link a warning glance before they went to go catch up with Corrin. 

_Don't get carried away, alright?_

"Let's do this, yeah?" Link asked, giving Zelda a careful grin. 

"Heck yeah!" Zelda replied. She grabbed him by the hand and started leading him up the white marble steps. 

Link allowed Zelda to drag him along, and he found that he felt... happier than he had in weeks. This was actually kind of nice. 

The interior of the building was just as grand as the white and grey marble exterior would suggest. It was a grand hall with a high ceiling that featured a dome of made from glass. The dome provided a view of the stunning sunset and allowed some natural light to filter in. It complimented the elegant light fixtures, which were cleverly set into the walls. 

A balcony ran along the second floor, and occasionally the gleam of a sword or gun barrel could be spotted if you were looking hard enough. So this ball was important enough to warrant guards... how curious. 

In addition to the unseen guards, there were other people dotting the balcony and studying the ball below. And, unfortunately for Link, there were several couples who looked like they hadn't anticipated curious ball guests observing their actions on the balcony as they attempted to get their bearings in this intimidatingly impressive hall. After seeing one such couple, Link averted his gaze and stuck his tongue out in disgust. 

Luckily, Zelda didn't seem to notice. She was too busy looking at the main floor, which was full of people. 

"This is more people in one spot than I've ever seen in my entire life!" Zelda exclaimed, her enthusiasm written all over her face. 

That was probably a sign of how isolated their lives had been until this point, but Link knew that dwelling on the treatment they'd all relieved from the Headmaster would just ruin his night. And he didn't want that to happen. He just wanted to enjoy a night with Zelda. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so. 

Angrily, Link shoved the intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind.

He turned to look at Zelda and smiled. "May I have this dance?" 

"Of course, Link." Zelda smiled back at him. 

././.

Three. Hours.

It had been three exhausting hours of people walking up to him and Zelda and interrupting their conversations (or, from time to time, dances). Link was sick of it. Did these people not realize how rude they were being? 

Due to this, Link didn't even notice Caeda's arrival until she was right beside Zelda. 

"Okay you two, it's time for the big announcement. If you'd just follow me, please..." Caeda said, gesturing to the stage behind her. Well, maybe calling it a stage was a bit generous. It was a raised platform adorned with a single microphone on a stand, with well-concealed stairs leading up to it. Link spotted Ike and Samus standing by the stairs and looking more than a little nervous. 

With Caeda literally carving a path for them (she was telling people to move aside or else, which was honestly a little terrifying to Link. He appreciated it, though. Otherwise it would have taken him twice as long to get over there, since he would have stopped and apologized whenever he stepped on someone's foot. Even if he was annoyed with some people for being so rude.) Seeing as Caeda made for a very efficient path clearer, it took less than five minutes to meet up with the others at the back of the hall. Much to Link's surprise, everybody else was already there. 

"Took you long enough! What, were you off in a corner somewhere?" Samus exclaimed. Under normal circumstances, Link would have been offended at this comment. However, he knew that Samus was just nervous and joking around to hide it. 

"I could say the same to you." Link said smoothly. He'd gotten a lot better at talking since earlier tonight, that's for sure. 

"Don't be mean." Zelda said to both of them. 

Caeda stepped in to cut off any argument that Samus might have with Zelda's statement, considering the blonde girl was about to say something in response. "Enough, Samus. They were towards the back of the hall, and since they're both blond Hylians, it's kind of hard to pick them out in the crowd. Seriously, have you seen all of the blond Hylian couples here?"

Samus accepted defeat and nodded her head. "Alright, I'll give you that one." 

"Great." Caeda was going to say more, but she was cut off by a sudden burst of applause. "Damn. That would be Chrom. Okay people, form an orderly line! Boys on the left, girls on the right! Sheik, would you join the girls' line just so both lines are a little more evened out?"

Sheik gave Caeda a thumbs-up sign and moved to stand behind Lucina. 

Literally as soon as they did that, Chrom's voice rang out through the hall. 

"Good evening, friends. It's good to see that so many of you were able to make it. As you know, tonight I have the pleasure of being able to announce that the Lost Children have been returned home. Thanks to the valiant efforts of Shulk and Caeda, the leaders of our Expeditionary Corps, nine of our ten lost children have been returned. Tonight, we are here to celebrate their return, as well as formally welcome them back to our fine city." Chrom said, speaking with the ease of a trained public speaker. 

When their names were mentioned, Caeda and Shulk walked out on to the stage and stood at attention behind Chrom. 

"I'm sure you're all expecting to see that they are alive and well. So, without further ado, here they are. It's been eleven years, but they survived." Chrom swept an arm to where Link and his friends were waiting. 

Slowly, Samus and Ike started forward. Or maybe it seemed like they were walking slowly, since time had seemed to nearly stop moving around them. 

He barely felt the steps as he walked up them, and he nearly didn't stop walking in time to not crash into Samus when she stopped, since she was in front of him. 

Link had not been expecting to be greeted with such a thunderous round of applause as they walked on to the stage and stopped in a neat line behind Shulk, Caeda, and Chrom. 

As Chrom waited for the applause to die down a bit, he turned a bit and whispered something to Shulk and Caeda. 

Finally, once the crowd had stopped applauding, Chrom began speaking again. "As I'm sure you all are aware, we have fallen on unfortunate times as a rebellion. Morale is low. Our underground war looks to be a losing battle. While this announcement pains me to say, the other Leaders and I have decided that the Lost Children will be the turning point in this war. We will use them to our advantage, as they know the Headmaster's techniques. You may know what I am about to say. These nine young people, while they have seen more than their fair share of suffering already, will be recruited to usher in a new wave of strength and bring us the victories we so sorely need. I firmly believe that they can win us this war." 

Wait...

Had he really just said that?

Cheers. 

There was another wave of applause, this time accompanied by _cheering._

Link and his friends were going to war, and these well-dressed strangers were _cheering_ for it. 

All he could do was stare numbly out at the crowd as they cheered for was was likely to be the death of him and his friends.


	25. TOGETHER, WE RIDE.

Two days after the ball, Robin was the first one to arrive in the briefing room to officially be drafted into the Rebellion's army. To be fair, he did live the closest out of all of them, so he had a head start. He'd surprised himself by getting out of bed on time this morning, as he'd accidentally lost track of time while reading some of the books Robin had checked out from the library. 

He actually had one of those books with him right now, since he was anticipating a little bit of a wait. Casually, he opened it and started reading. It was about military strategy (he'd picked it up yesterday morning, since Robin had thought that studying up on that kind of thing would be useful in the days to come.)

Robin hadn't even finished the page before someone came crashing into the room. Annoyed, he looked up to see Ike and Link grinning and high-fiving each other. 

"What did you do?" Chrom asked without looking up. Shocked, Robin looked over to him. He could've sworn Chrom wasn't here when he arrived. Only Shulk and Caeda had been standing around the table where Chrom had been when they first arrived here. 

"We beat Samus and Zelda here. They were talking about how they bet that we'd be too slow to make it here before us, so we decided to prove them wrong." Link explained. 

Robin sighed and returned to his book. Those two literally couldn't back away from a challenge, could they? Shortly after Link and Ike got settled, Samus and Zelda arrived. They both looked rather put out by the fact that the two boys had beaten them, but they didn't say anything about it. All of this chaos was making it pretty hard for Robin to read his book, which annoyed him. 

Corrin, Lucina, and Sheik all wandered in at the same time. What were the odds of that? Seriously. The three of them appeared to be having a conversation about the pros and cons of paperback books versus hardcover books. An odd thing for them to be talking about, considering that books were usually Robin's thing. Not that he minded seeing other people talking about books, of course. 

And everybody knows that paperback books are superior to hardcover books, anyway. 

Speaking of odd things, where was Marth? It was unlike him to be late. 

Almost as if Robin's thought had summoned him, Marth appeared in the doorway. 

"Sorry about that." Marth was breathing hard, like he'd just been running. Didn't he live about three miles away from here? If so, that was a long way to run. 

"Where were you?" Lucina asked, looking over at him with concern written all over her face.

"Woke up late. Had to run over here." Marth said in between gasps. He kind of looked like he was going to pass out. 

"Three miles? After just waking up?" Lucina looked a bit incredulous. Robin didn't blame her, it seemed like a bizarre feat to him as well. 

Marth could only nod. "Used my Gift a bit, too. It's not helping now, that's for sure." he said, once he was able to speak. 

"Right, well, now that everybody's here, we can get started." Chrom said, cutting their conversation short. "Caeda, I'll let you explain a little bit before we get into weapons and everything else."

Caeda nodded in acknowledgement and turned to face the others. "So, as you all know, you've been drafted. Unfortunately, this is how we've managed to get most of our soldiers. I know you're probably wondering how we draft people when we're rebelling against the government, which usually does the drafting. The truth is, the government is widely despised. We have plenty of supporters here in Ebonfell and the other cities. Whenever someone new says they want to support our cause, we put their names down in a virtual registry. At the end of each month, if we see the need to add more soldiers, we pull names from this registry. Usually it's around twenty to thirty people added in this way, but we're kind of gambling on the fact that you all have incredibly strong Gifts." Caeda explained. When she finished speaking, she stepped back and nodded to Chrom. 

"Thank you, Caeda. Now, I apologize if this is a lot to take in. I would have preferred to give you all more time to settle in to life here, but my fellow Leaders disagreed. The two months you've had so far are a result of a compromise between myself and them." Chrom sighed a little helplessly, then shook his head to clear it. "You will all have three to four months of training. This seems very fast, but I regret to say that this is what each soldier gets. No more, and no less. We simply do not have the time for it. You will receive advanced training in how to use your Gifts, and you will also receive weapons training." 

"Forgive the intrusion, but we've already had basic training in each of those areas." Marth said, since he'd recovered from his three mile jog by now. 

"Yes, you have. Hopefully, these next few months will be enough to turn you into real fighters. Not saying that you aren't skilled already, but some proper training could do you all good." Chrom replied. 

"Thanks for that." Samus muttered. 

"The training you received at the hands of the Headmaster was cruel and unnecessarily violent. While it may have been an effective teacher, you'll need to be retaught several things in order to preserve your decency as human beings when you're out there on the battlefield." Chrom explained. 

That shut Samus up. 

"Cruel and unnecessarily violent, huh? I'll show YOU cruel and unnecessarily violent." One of the voices in Robin's head grumbled, thought it was really loud and certainly unexpected. When he heard the voice, he literally flinched and nearly dropped his book. A quick glance around told him that it was indeed one of the two voices in his head, as nobody else seemed to have heard it. Great. He was just slowly going insane, then. 

"Shut up." Robin hissed under his breath at the voice. "Now is not the time for this." 

Luckily, nobody seemed to notice his comment. 

"So will we be receiving weapons?" Ike asked, sounding genuinely curious. 

Chrom smiled. "Indeed you will. In fact, besides giving you the formal introduction to the army, we're also going to be doing some weapon compatibility tests. Due to the nature of your Gifts, we have reason to suspect that several of you are able to wield the legendary weapons we've managed to free from the government's archives." He gestured to Shulk and Caeda, who had gone and retrieved a sleek black case. It was quite impressive looking, as it was quite large and seemingly heavy. 

Wordlessly, Shulk opened the latches holding the case closed. Robin only caught a glimpse of a golden blade before Shulk moved in front of the case, presumably to pick the sword up. 

"You may be familiar with the fact that we mainly use guns. However, recent events have led the other Leaders and I to decide that each soldier needs to be skilled in more... archaic styles of fighting, for lack of a better word. So, we made it a mission of ours to retrieve the legendary weapons." Chrom explained as Shulk and Caeda prepared the weapons by setting them out on the table. "First is the heavenly sword Ragnell, said to be blessed by the goddess Ashera during a mythical war from our distant past. Ragnell is the sister sword to Alondite, which we have not been able to recover yet. This sword is said to be less finicky about who bears it, yet still challenging to wield nonetheless."

"What could possibly so difficult about a sword?" Samus scoffed. 

"You're welcome to try and wield it, Samus. See for yourself." Caeda cut in, shrugging while she spoke. 

Robin's eyes narrowed. From what he'd read about Ragnell, it could be wielded by anybody. It wasn't like the Master Sword... Unless it required someone with the Gift of super strength to wield it? All its past wielders had been Gifted with super strength, once Gifts started manifesting... 

The way Shulk didn't even try to pick the sword up to hand it to Samus confirmed Robin's suspicions. When the blonde girl tried to lift it, she found that she could only get it to budge a few centimeters. 

"What the..? It's so heavy. A lot heavier than it looks, actually." Samus frowned and released her grip on the hilt. 

"Come on, Samus. It can't be that heavy." Zelda said. "It doesn't look like it weighs that much."

"I told you, it's heavier than it looks!" Samus replied. 

Zelda sighed and tried to lift Ragnell herself. "Alright, I believe you." she said, frowning as well. "Maybe Ike should try to lift it. He's the one with super strength."

"Hold on, let me try." Link said, stepping forward and gripping the hilt. He only succeeded in looking like a fool as he tried to lift the sword, to no avail. 

Finally, Ike stepped forward and put a hand on Link's shoulder. "Link, let me do this." he said, looking almost apologetic. 

Link stepped aside with a frustrated huff. 

Just like Robin had suspected, Ike was able to lift the sword with no trouble. 

"You guys were right, it has a little bit of weight to it." Ike remarked, looking down at the golden blade in his hand. 

"You make it look easy, though." Link said, a tad resentfully. 

Ike just shrugged in response, careful not to accidentally behead someone when he did. 

"Link, you shouldn't sound so disappointed. Especially considering this next sword is basically yours. This aptitude test is really only a formality." Shulk said. 

Chrom did his best to hide a smile at his words. "Shulk is correct. The next sword we have is the Master Sword. Also called the sword that seals the darkness, or the blade of evil's bane. It's a very famous sword. Equally as famous is the fact that this sword can only be wielded by someone with the blood of a courageous hero in their veins." 

Robin nodded. He'd read several books about the Master Sword in particular, as it was one of the most famous swords in existence. "Go on, Link. You're the one with the particular hero's blood needed for this sword." 

As soon as Link picked it up, he nearly dropped it with a hiss of pain. "It feels like it's trying to kill me!" he exclaimed through gritted teeth. 

"Of course. It's how the sword determines if you're worthy to wield it or not." Robin said, shrugging. 

"Shut... up." Link hissed back at him. 

After a few tense seconds of Link stubbornly keeping his grip on the hilt of the sword, he exhaled and very nearly dropped the legendary blade on his foot. He looked more tired than Robin had ever seen him, but vaguely proud of himself. 

"So you didn't die after all. What a shame." Sheik commented dryly. 

Link just rolled his eyes at them and ignored their comment. 

Caeda handed Link an impressive looking sheath, complete with the Triforce etched on it in gold. Almost automatically, Link sheathed the sword and used the strap that was attached to swing it over his shoulder. 

"Next we have the Parallel Falchion, which is different from my own Exalted Falchion. It is also different from the sword right after it, which is also named Falchion. It's also completely separate from the Dracofalchion wielded by Alm, one of my fellow Leaders. Him and his wife Celica make quite the pair, both on the battlefield and off it." Chrom noticed he was getting distracted and cleared his throat. "Er, sorry about that. In any case, this one is a bit of an odd sword. It requires a wielder with a very specific variant of the hero-king's blood. For anybody else, it's just a dull sword that will not sharpen, no matter what." 

Lucina stepped forward. "That would be me. Once wielded by the Foreseer, who saved the world using the Parallel Falchion and their knowledge of what would come to pass in the future. This particular variant of Falchion can only be wielded by a descendant of the Forseer who manifests the Future Witness Gift. Although the Forseer died long before the first Gifted child was born, their bloodline still manifests in that particular Gift. I've done my research, Father." 

Chrom looked stunned. "I... Yes, good job, Lucina." He cleared his throat and gestured to Shulk, who picked up the sword, as well as its scabbard, and handed it to Lucina. 

Needless to say, Robin was very impressed. It wasn't every day that Lucina showed off her clever side, and when she did... it was equal parts adorable and surprising. 

She had the grace to look a little sheepish as she sheathed the sword, which was quite the impressive weapon by itself. The blade was silver with a golden line down the middle, and the hilt had a teardrop-shaped gap before the royal red grip began. The sheath matched the color of the grip and had gold embellishments, not unlike the sheath Chrom himself carried. 

"Speaking of Falchion and its various variants, now we come to the sword that started it all. Figuratively speaking, of course. Nobody is really certain how the various variants of Falchion have all come to exist together, but it's likely that they are all different swords with similar names and a muddled history. This version of Falchion can only unlock its true power when wielded by someone with the blood of the Hero-King from the legends. It can be wielded by others, but it won't be anything other than a regular sword." Chrom said, trying to keep this process moving. 

Wordlessly, Marth stepped forward. "Like Lucina, I've done a fair amount of research into this topic as well. I believe I would be the one to unlock Falchion's power, thanks to my Gift." he explained, looking his father in the eyes. He appeared to be more confident that he'd been in a while. It was refreshing to see, honestly. But it was also a little terrifying. 

Chrom hadn't mentioned what all variants of Falchion could do. 

No matter what version of the legendary sword it was, the blade was blessed to be the ultimate dragon-slayer. 

Robin could feel his blood boiling from being in such close proximity to three of the blades that could kill him with literally a scratch. 

Casually, he glanced over at Corrin. The silver-haired boy was looking a little sick as well, so at least the two of them were suffering together. 

"We've got two more legendary swords to get through, and then we'll move on to the... less conventional legendary weapons." Chrom said. "The next sword is the golden Yato, a blade that also happens to be very particular about who wields it. I'm not exactly sure how this sword chooses its wielder, so whoever hasn't claimed a weapon can go ahead and try their luck with this one." 

Zelda, to Robin's surprise, was the first one to step forward. "I'll try." she said, shrugging her shoulders. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"You could die!" Link protested. 

"The Yato isn't quite as dramatic as the Master Sword with its method of choosing a bearer, Link." Corrin said quietly. 

"Still." Link protested. 

"Enough, Link. I can handle this." Zelda said while she grabbed the hilt of the golden sword. 

Almost immediately, she dropped it and swore. "It burned me?" Zelda exclaimed incredulously. 

Sheik frowned, but they didn't move. 

"If it burnt you, let me try." Corrin said. He seemed to be trying to fight the nausea that the three Falchions were undoubtedly causing. "I've got water dragon blood. Maybe it won't burn me." 

Now Sheik looked downright nervous. Still, they didn't move or say anything to stop Corrin. 

Corrin grabbed the hilt and didn't pull it away like Zelda had. "It feels warm, but not burning hot." he mused, probably just thinking out loud. 

Robin could have sworn he saw Sheik's shoulders slump a little in relief. 

"Good. Well, we have one more legendary blade to get through before the last few weapons. This one doesn't really have a too illustrious history, if I'm being honest. This Windcleaver is a relic from the... rather bloody history of the Sheikah. It doesn't have any odd restrictions on who can use it, but it is a little intimidating to wield." Chrom said. 

"This is a Yiga weapon, not a Sheikah weapon." Sheik said quietly. Their gaze, which was intimidating under normal circumstances, was positively terrifying now. "In fact, I recognize the pattern on the hilt. That's the blade that was used by the founder of the Yiga Clan to slay the beloved leader of the Sheikah at that time. That blade and its wielder started a civil war that decimated both clans! Calling this blade a "legendary weapon" of the same kind as the Master Sword is an affront to the very history of my clan." 

Robin had never heard Sheik this angry. They were furious. Plenty of people had been doing their research, but wait- had they mentioned their clan?

Did that mean that Sheik and Zelda were both at least half-Sheikah?

Hadn't the Sheikah died out a long time ago, though?

"Sheik, I apologize for any offense this weapon may present to you. I'm afraid we have yet to recover the Eightfold Blade used in that same war, or even any of the Ancient Weapons." Chrom sounded genuinely apologetic, but Sheik didn't let him off that easy. 

"I know you knew that Zelda and I are half Sheikah. This blade represents a lot of things, and none of them are good. I know that Sheikah aren't the most welcome race in most cities. Hell, even Gorons are most tolerable to most people. Laguz, manaketes... doesn't matter. They're all more accepted than Sheikah nowadays. If I carry this blade around, that will only reinforce the image of the Sheikah as killers who care not for the lives of others." Sheik replied. "I will kill a man with my bare hands if necessary. I will not raise this blade in battle, and that is final."

The room was silent. 

Sheik had never gotten that angry before. At least, not that Robin had seen. They looked furious. 

"I see." was all Chrom could manage in response. 

Finally, Sheik backed down. "I will use a regular sword. I don't need a fancy blade to prove my worth." With that, they returned to their spot beside Corrin, who looked genuinely shocked by their outrage. 

After a moment of silence, Chrom cleared his throat. Shulk wrapped up a long, sinister looking blade and placed it back in the case. "Next is the first of our different legendary weapons. The Bow of Light, said to be wielded by various princesses throughout its long history. Only someone with the power to bend light to their will can fire this bow, as its arrows are made of pure light." Chrom said, apparently trying to get past that little debacle. 

"That's me." Zelda said, raising her hand. "I can manipulate light thanks to my Gift, Light of Hyrule." 

Caeda handed the bow to Zelda, who took it. Almost immediately, a glowing bowstring and an arrow, already nocked and ready to fire, appeared. 

"Perfect." Chrom said. "Next, we have the tome Grima's Truth. This tome was gifted by the fell dragon himself to the first bishop who devoted themselves completely to Grima. It contains all sorts of spells to wreak havoc on your opponents, and is considered to be so dangerous that only someone with the fell dragon's blood can wield it now." 

Robin could feel the tome whispering to him. It was an odd experience, to say the least. Wait, this is a dangerous book. He should stay FAR AWAY from it. No, there was knowledge inside. Power, too. The ability to kill people painfully. He could make the Headmaster suffer with this book...

"I have the fell dragon's blood." Robin muttered, almost as if he was in a daze. Could the others hear how dazed he was? Hopefully not. That would not help his chances with Lucina. 

Wordlessly, Caeda handed him the tome. 

It had a purple cover, and it felt leathery to the touch. Could it possibly be made of dragon skin? He ran a hand down the cover, being careful to keep a neutral expression on his face. The tome felt like it was alive, or maybe he was just hallucinating. 

He'd have to keep this somewhere safe when he wasn't using it. 

"That brings us to our last weapon. Samus, this one would be yours. It's the legendary Power Suit, which has served many bounty hunters well over the years. I don't have much to say about this one, as it doesn't really choose its wielder. It's a regular weapon in that sense, but it is legendary because of who first wore it." Chrom said. He looked vaguely exhausted, which made sense considering how much talking he'd been doing. 

"Sweet." Samus said, looking at the small rectangular box she'd been handed. "This looks a little small to be a suit, though."

"You'll see." Shulk said, winking at her mischievously. "It's pretty interesting, trust me." 

Ike looked at the blond boy suspiciously, and Shulk was suddenly very aware of the sword in the blue-haired boy's grasp. 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. 

Caeda was the one to break it. "So. Now I think we're done here. Your training won't start until next week, so you have a bit of time to digest all of this information. Try not to get yourselves in any danger before then, alright?" 

"You are dismissed." Chrom added, an authoritative note coming into his voice that snapped Robin's attention back to reality. 

Slowly, the group dispersed. Robin was one of the first ones to exit, but as he was walking out of the Rebellion's headquarters, Ike caught up with him. 

"Hey, Robin. I have a question for you." Ike said, slowing his pace to match Robin's.

"Go for it." Robin said, trying his best to focus on Ike and not all of the information he'd just learned, plus the tome in his hands and what it was whispering to him.

"What do you think of me? Be honest." Ike asked. 

Robin had to think about that for a moment. "Hmm. Well, I don't really know you all that well. You seem like a cool guy, but you never really do anything that sticks out in my mind." he replied, nodding after a moment as if agreeing with himself.

"...I see." Ike said. "Thank you." With that, Ike started walking in the other direction, presumably to get to his apartment. 

After a moment, Robin shrugged and kept walking. It wasn't really that important, so he dismissed Ike's question and returned processing all of that information running through his head.


	26. PROVE IT.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Semi-detailed descriptions of blood and violence.

"Chrom, you wanted to see me?" Ike asked as he walked into the command center. It had been three weeks since the initial draft, and already Ike was throwing himself into assignments. 

"Ah, Ike. There you are." Chrom looked up from the report he was reading. "The data on the assignment you've been asking about finally came in." 

"Great. I appreciate this, Chrom. I know that nobody else has actually been out on an assignment yet, so this is..." Ike trailed off in the middle of his sentence, unwilling to finish his thought. 

Chrom sighed."None of the others have shown progress significant enough to warrant sending them on assignments. I must say that I'm quite surprised with how quickly you've picked up some of the techniques you've been taught."

"It's just practice. A lot of practice." Ike shrugged. "This stuff might save my life or someone else's one day. I've got to make sure I know what I'm doing, and once I get the basics, I can go out and help people better." 

"A very noble sentiment." Chrom said, regarding Ike with a well-disguised hint of respect in his eyes. 

"It's just being a decent person." Ike replied firmly. "If you'll excuse me, sir? I should get going."

"Yes, of course. Safe travels." Chrom nodded his head in dismissal. To be polite, he waited until Ike exited the room to return to his reports. Sighing, he shook his head. "Running a semi-underground militia involves far too much paperwork." Chrom grumbled under his breath. 

Ike returned to his apartment with the assignment data in one hand and a breakfast sandwich in the other hand. In his defense, it was early in the morning, and he hadn't had time to make himself breakfast before he ran off to the Rebellion's headquarters to meet with Chrom. 

Either way, it was a really good breakfast sandwich. Probably because it had come from Delfino Dumplings and More. Somehow, Ike managed to unlock the door of his apartment without too much struggling. 

Once he was inside, he finished the breakfast sandwich before going over the papers. Pretty basic stuff- there was a gang causing trouble on the East Side, which was where the Merchant's Guild was headquartered. After finalizing his strategy, Ike got up and moved over to where he kept Ragnell when he wasn't using it. 

The golden sword had quite a bit of weight to it, seeing as it was meant to be used with two hands. Ike liked that, though. It felt a lot better in his hands than those lame practice swords that the Headmaster had forced him to use. He'd also started fighting with armor, on the combat professor/co-leader of the rebellion Alm's recommendation. It turned out that both Alm and his wife Celica taught the recruits in their spare time, and what Chrom had said about the duo was very true. Alm was rather impulsive for someone who lead an army as well as taught recruits, and Celica was his voice of reason. 

If Ike was being honest, it was amazing to see the two of them working together like they did. Someday, maybe he would have that kind of a relationship. 

A slight smile crept onto Ike's lips as he shook his head gently to clear it. He was getting sentimental. There were several things that he would need to do before he'd even consider himself worthy of such a relationship. 

And one of those things happened to be proving his own worth. Ever since that brief conversation with Robin, Ike hadn't been able to get the white-haired boy's words out of his head. 

_You never really do anything that sticks out in my head._

Ike sighed and picked up his left gauntlet. He slipped it on before reaching for the right gauntlet, making sure both were secure once they were on. His left gauntlet had more armor on it than the right one did, which he'd already had to use to his advantage in several assignments. Next, he reached for the chain mail shirt he would wear under his blue, black, and gold tunic. It was a precaution, of course. After that, he put on his tunic. He was already wearing the tan-colored trousers that he usually wore with this whole ensemble, since they were comfortable. Ike adjusted his belt before turning his attention to the metal pad he wore over his heart. He had to adjust that strap a little, but otherwise it was fine. 

Next, he pulled on his steel-toed boots and made sure that they wouldn't fall off if he needed to kick something. Finally, he put on the pauldron he wore on his left shoulder and slipped his red cape over his head. 

Ike looked at himself in the mirror, just to check that he had everything. He'd forgotten his headband, so he quickly but firmly tied it around his forehead. Grabbing Ragnell, he was now ready to go. One more quick check of the location, just to make sure... okay, yes. Ike was definitely ready now. 

The armor and rather large sword got him a few strange glances as he walked down the sidewalk, but otherwise things went rather smoothly. 

If only everything in life could go as smoothly as that walk had. Unfortunately, Ike knew that was too much to ask for. Especially considering he'd be dealing with a gang today. He'd asked Alm for some advice on dealing with gangs last week, when he'd initially put the request in for this particular assignment. Alm had been very helpful, and he'd stressed that gangs were unpredictable and should be handled with caution. 

Of course, Alm had also said that one person usually wasn't enough to take down an entire gang. Recalling the memory now only made Ike more determined to prove his combat professor/leader wrong. He would prove everybody wrong about him. If he could take this gang down by himself, then people would have to respect him and his combat skills. 

Ike stood in front of the building that the gang was reportedly operating out of and steeled himself for what was to come. He'd be killing the people inside, and he absolutely could not leave survivors. While he may not know what war was like just yet, Ike could tell that he'd have to kill more people. That was just how it worked. 

This was his first assignment where he'd be killing people. 

Before, he'd avoided assignments like this. But as Robin's words got into his head, he realized that he had to stop avoiding stuff like this and actually just do it. He needed to prove something, and as unfortunate as taking a life was, it certainly did make a statement. 

So Ike stood up a bit straighter and exhaled, making sure his resolve was rock-steady before he walked into the suspicious-looking building. 

Inside was a dark warehouse that was lit by gas lanterns. People in dark clothing milled about, checking on the status of various boxes. Ike couldn't quite make out what was in the boxes, but based on the data he'd looked over before coming here, it was stolen items from various merchants in this part of the city. 

The activity in the room ground to a halt when they started noticing Ike in the doorway. 

"Good afternoon." Ike said. "Is this the headquarters of the Death God Gang?" 

"What's it to you?" A heavily muscled, grey-haired guy growled. 

"Oh, I was just wondering if I got the right spot. See, I'm here to shut you guys down. Permanently." Ike replied. 

"Over my dead body!" the same guy growled, then pulled out an axe (where it came from, Ike had no idea) and charged right at him. 

Ike saw the attack coming from a mile away and merely sidestepped it. He stuck out his foot and tripped the man, then plunged Ragnell into his back, right over where his heart was. 

The choked cry he emitted was cut off as Ike _twisted_ the blade and applied more force to it. 

"He took out Kostas just like that??" someone exclaimed incredulously. 

"Run!" someone else shouted right as someone else yelled "GET HIM!"

As a result, the room was thrown into chaos. Half the people in it started running around like headless chickens, trying to find the most efficient exit. The other half started grabbing weapons and running at him. 

Ike readied Ragnell, ignoring the blood that now stained the blade. In the darkness, it looked black on the otherwise spotless blade. 

The first person to reach him was using a sword smaller than his own, and Ike knew he'd have to end the battle before he could get too locked into single combat. The sheer numbers that were coming at him now couldn't be cut aside like wheat in a field- he'd have to be careful with his sword strokes. 

So the battle began, and any thought of strategy flew out the window. Survival instincts kicked in, and for several minutes all he could think was _slash, block, stab, cut, parry._ He gained a few minor injuries here and there, but nothing that could really slow him down. A cut on his upper right arm was particularity bothersome, but he pushed through it. 

Everything was going fine until he spotted someone moving out of the corner of his left eye. Ike whirled around to face them, but in doing so he forgot to check where he was stepping. He accidentally stepped on the arm of a corpse and lost his balance. His opponent's blade crashed into his, and Ike fell back. He moved to push himself off of the ground, but a hand kept him from getting up. 

"Not so fast, kid." A voice growled, sounding choked and almost... gurgly. Like the speaker was choking on their own blood. 

"Let go of me." Ike hissed, using his free hand in a desperate attempt to pry the fingers off of his arm. There was too much to focus on, so he couldn't call on his Gift- which was unfortunate, because he really could use a burst of strength right about now. 

As he tried to focus on calling a burst of strength, his attacker struck down at him, the blade sparking off of the armor he wore over his heart and continuing down. It tore a gash in his tunic and ripped through the chain mail. Desperately, Ike slammed his hand down on the fingers still holding his arm and leaped free when he felt the grip loosen. His movement only served to drive the blade through the chain mail and into his torso, leaving a gash about a half inch wide and three inches long. 

Luckily, it wasn't too deep, so he wouldn't die... if he managed to end this quickly, because it was bleeding quite a bit. Scowling, Ike feinted left at his attacker. They fell for the feint, and Ike was able to switch the stroke so Ragnell buried itself in their side. Ike jerked the sword out of the wound and shoved the gang member down. He took care this time to check that they were actually dead, as he didn't want a repeat of what just happened. 

The rest of the assignment was fairly simple, once all the gang members were dead. All Ike had to do was make sure that he placed the calling card of the Rebellion, so the people would know who had done this. It was a simple white card with the Mark of the Exalt on it in light blue. 

As soon as he was finished, Ike wobbled on his feet. He stayed steady long enough to wipe the blood off of Ragnell's blade using the shirt of a dead gang member, then had to place the legendary blade point-down on the ground to steady himself. 

Damn. 

That wound was making him weak from blood loss already. There was no way he'd make it back to his own apartment like this. Who lived the closest to here...?

Right. Samus did. Five minutes away, in an apartment building that was popular with bounty hunters and the like. She had picked it for its proximity to the East Side, where she'd said she felt more at home than anywhere else in this city. 

Cursing softly under his breath, Ike tore a strip of clothing off of a different dead gang member's shirt and pressed it to the wound on his chest. He had to keep pressure applied to it, or he'd bleed out. As it was, he happened to be covered in less blood than he thought at first- the areas where he hadn't been wounded, like his legs, only had minimal stains. 

Ike just had to make it to Samus's apartment before he passed out, either from shock or from blood loss. Carefully, Ike started moving, grimacing as he had to step over quite a few bodies. 

Gods. He'd really done that. 

And he could still hear the screams. Or the way that man who'd grabbed him had sounded as he tried to speak through the blood choking him. 

_Don't think about that now, just get to her apartment. Stay alive to think about it later._

And so he limped down the crowded sidewalk, getting many more strange glances along the way. Once, someone stopped him and offered to call an ambulance for him. Ike politely declined and said it was worse than it looked. 

One benefit of living in the City of Crime was that most people didn't really question a person walking down the sidewalk covered in blood and obviously in pain. Sure, it was a jarring sight, but it was normal enough. 

If that didn't speak volumes about the state of the city, Ike wasn't sure what did. 

Ike was barely able to knock on Samus's door, the blood loss was making him so weak. When she opened the door, it took her a moment to realize what was going on. 

"Hey Ike. How are you- wait, why are you covered in blood?!" Samus' voice rose a few octaves at the end of her sentence, making Ike wince. His head was throbbing. 

"I need your help, Samus. I can explain, I swear." Ike responded. Even his voice sounded weak. He was beginning to feel lightheaded. If he didn't sit down soon, Ike was certain he was going to pass out. 

"How much of that blood is yours?" Samus asked, helping him inside her apartment.

"Not... all of it." Ike murmured. The lightheadedness had become too much, and he promptly passed out in her arms. 

././.

When Ike returned to consciousness, he was lying on Samus's couch with his shirt off and bandages wrapped around his torso, as well as his smaller wounds. Samus herself was nowhere to be seen, but when he tried to sit up and look around, she poked her head into the living room from the kitchen. 

"How do you feel?" Samus asked, ducking back into the kitchen for a moment but then reemerging with a cup of tea in her hands. It was Ike's favorite- green tea. 

Gingerly, Ike accepted the cup from Samus. After taking a drink, he sighed appreciatively. He then turned his attention to how his injuries felt, which only served to make the gash on his ribs hurt more. "I've been better, but I'll live. Thanks to you, of course." Ike replied. 

Samus frowned slightly. "Care to explain why you showed up at my doorstep, covered in blood that wasn't all yours?" she asked, a mixture of worry and anger showing on her face.

"An assignment." Ike said. "I shut a gang down by myself and bit off a bit more than I could chew."

"Why would you do that on your own?" Samus exclaimed. "Ike, you could have died! You don't just do something like that all by yourself!"

"Samus, I'm okay. I'm still alive, aren't I?" Ike replied, but it was a weak argument and he knew it.

"That doesn't excuse what you did! If I didn't live so close, or if that blade had gone deeper, you would be dead! And I don't know what I'd do if you did that, because as idiotic as you are, I can't imagine a world without you." Samus was genuinely upset now, and Ike felt terrible for it. He'd always hated it when she was upset. 

So Ike forced himself into a sitting position to look at her better, ignoring the twinge of pain his various wounds gave. Carefully, he set his cup of tea to the side. "I'm sorry, Samus. I felt like I had something to prove, and I didn't really consider how others would interpret my actions. You're right, I should have been more careful with my planning. I should have brought someone else with me." Ike said softly. 

"You're going to hurt yourself again. Lie down." Samus said, although he could tell she was trying to hide how flustered she felt. 

"Something is still bothering you. I can tell." Ike didn't follow her instructions, and he probably wouldn't until she told him what was wrong. 

Samus was quiet for a minute. Slowly, she walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She crouched down in front of him and just looked him in the eyes. "I... care a lot about you, Ike. I don't want you to die. So, please... don't do that again." Samus whispered. She looked like she was fighting with herself to get the words out. 

"You have my word." Ike responded. "I don't just care about you, Samus. I'm in love with you. And I'm so sorry for scaring you like this. I swear I will come to you for help if I need it, okay?"

Samus's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. "Ike, I..."

Ike hadn't noticed that he was leaning in until he saw her eyes flicker down to his lips. A small smile made its way onto his face as he whispered "Can I kiss you?"

She just nodded, and so Ike leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't perfect, but then again Ike had no frame of reference to judge it by. For his first kiss, it was a damn good one. He'd wanted to do this for so long... but the moment was kind of ruined by his side giving a sharp twinge when he shifted ever so slightly the wrong way.

Samus leaned back and smiled tentatively at him. "I guess lying to myself about loving you didn't work out too well after all." Her words were sarcastic, but Ike was certain that she was just trying to cope with her own feelings. She tended to turn to sarcasm when she was flustered or upset, and judging by the light blush dusting her cheeks, she was definitely flustered. 

"I'm sorry I waited so long to actually tell you." Ike said, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. 

"Better late than never, I suppose." Samus sighed and laughed a bit. Then, she stood up and laid him back against the couch cushions. "You need rest, lover boy. You'll never heal otherwise."

Ike was about to complain when Samus shushed him. 

"For what it's worth, you didn't need to prove anything. You're just fine how you are." Samus said softly. 

And those words were infinitely better than anything that Robin or the others could say to him.


	27. CONFESSED.

"Okay Caeda, you can do this. No big deal. It's just our weekly meet-up for tea. This week is no different from any other." Caeda mumbled to herself as she stood outside of Marth's door. Normally she wasn't this nervous about their weekly meet-up, but this week... 

Well, she was going to tell him the truth. About who they'd been as kids, and what hung over their heads now. 

Hopefully the scones would kind of make up for that. Just to double-check, Caeda peeked inside the bag. Sure enough, two scones wrapped in napkins were nestled inside. Her mouth was already watering at the prospect of eating the lemon poppy seed scone she had picked for herself, since the scones from Abel and Est's were absolutely amazing. 

Enough delay, it was time. Just knock on the door. That's all it would take. Caeda raised her hand and knocked, barely flinching as her knuckles hit the wood. 

Marth opened the door sooner than Caeda expected him to, and his sudden appearance very nearly startled her. As if sensing her shock, Marth's eyes widened and he laughed softly. "Sorry for startling you, Caeda. Please, come in." Marth stepped to the side, allowing her to enter the apartment. 

"Don't worry about it. I just wasn't quite expecting you to open the door so soon." Caeda replied a little sheepishly.

"Yes, of course. I might have been, ah, fairly close to the door when you knocked." Marth rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, messing up his hair. 

After a moment of awkward silence, Caeda held up the brown paper bag. "I brought scones!" she announced, because these scones were definitely worthy of a grand announcement. 

Marth smiled, his eyes lighting up in excitement. His smiles were so rare nowadays... when they were kids, he was always smiling. But now, because of Roy, he hardly smiled at all. It was painful to see how Roy's betrayal had wrecked him, really. 

Of course, that only added to the effect Marth's smiles had on her. Knowing that they were rare made them more beautiful, in a way. 

"Did you get them from Abel and Est's?" Marth asked as he walked into the kitchen to get the tea. 

"I did." Caeda replied when he reappeared, teapot in hand. 

"You're the best. Thank you!" Marth said cheerfully. "Is there a holiday that I'm forgetting about or something? Last time you brought scones, it was a minor holiday celebrating... ah, what was it again?"

"The anniversary of the end of the Hyrulean Civil War. It's a minor holiday to most people besides Hylians." Caeda replied, sitting down at the little table Marth had set up on his balcony. "But no, there aren't any holidays that you're forgetting this week. I actually have something I need to talk to you about, and it's not exactly the most pleasant thing in the world... I was hoping the scones would make up for it." 

Marth sat down across from her, as usual. A confused frown crossed his face briefly, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared. He poured Caeda a cup of tea first, then poured one for himself. "I'm not sure why you'd feel the need to make up for anything you tell me. You know I... I trust you, right?" he remarked. 

Caeda pretended not to notice how he hesitated before saying "I trust you." 

"It's about who you and I used to be, and what's going to happen to us in the future." Caeda said, steeling herself for what comes next. 

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Marth did look pretty confused. Caeda didn't blame him, really. She knew that she was being pretty vague with that response, but it was the easiest way she could ease him into this conversation. She reached into the bag and drew out the two scones, handing the chocolate chip scone to Marth. 

And yet she continued to avoid the topic. "When was the last time you talked to Elice?" Caeda asked, unwrapping her own scone. She didn't take a bite just yet, because she was planning on using the scone as motivation to tell him everything. 

She meant everything. Including how she felt about him. She had waited long enough, and while she hated to do this to him if he wasn't ready... Caeda didn't know if she could pretend she didn't love him any longer. 

"Two days ago. Why?" Marth replied, cutting a bite out of his scone with a knife he'd laid out before she arrived. He was a bit of a neat freak when it came to how he ate his food, which was honestly an adorable detail. 

Caeda exhaled in relief. "If you hadn't talked to her in a bit, this would be a whole lot harder. I'm assuming that she was asking you about how your life is going, right?" 

Marth nodded, as he was busy eating some of his scone. 

"Did she ask you about anybody in particular?" Caeda asked. 

"Well..." Marth set down his fork. "Yes. She did. I'm not sure you'd like the answer, but... you're doing enough avoiding the subject for both of us. Elice was rather nosy about our friendship, but she wouldn't tell me why." 

"She has a reason for it." Caeda replied. She took a drink of her tea, hoping that her hands weren't shaking too visibly. "When we were kids, we were best friends. We were literally always together. In a way, you could say that we were partners in crime... whenever one of us got in trouble, the other would be right there too."

"So that's why you wanted to know if I remembered you when we were rescued." Marth mused. Then, realizing that he'd kind of cut her off, he jumped to apologize. "Ah, I'm sorry. I cut you off. Please, ignore me."

"I could never ignore you, Marth." The words slipped out of her mouth before she even had a chance to think about them. Almost immediately, Caeda's face flushed and her eyes widened. "I'm sorry, that sounded weird."

"No, you're fine. Really." Marth replied hurriedly, trying to smooth over the situation. His face was just as red as Caeda's was by now. 

There was a moment of awkward silence. Caeda was trying to regather her thoughts, which was no easy task considering how her brain would not let her forget what she'd just said. 

"Both of us belong to families descended from royalty of the past. Unfortunately, my family has fallen on hard times as of late. In order to restore our reputation, my father decided to bring back a tradition from the days when kings ruled this land. Arranged marriage." Caeda explained, deciding to just push past her comment. If she didn't, she might not be able to get through the rest of the explanation. 

Marth's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "So that means..."

"Technically, you're my fiance." Caeda nodded. "Although the engagement was nearly called off when you were taken. I joined the Expeditionary Corps as soon as I turned twelve so I could search for you. You were my best friend before you were my fiance, and I just wanted you back. I thought that everything would return to normal once you were back, but..."

"That obviously didn't happen." Marth said quietly. "The things the Headmaster did to all of us... we've all changed. And some of us, not for the better. I can't recall anything past the day I woke up in the Compound, with my friends lying in beds beside me and a needle in my left arm."

Caeda was quiet. She knew Marth, as much as he'd changed. He looked like he needed to say something, so she would let him speak. 

"I'm sorry that I'm not who I used to be. But you've still been so kind to me... and I can't help but feel like I don't deserve you. I feel like I've failed my friends. I know I can't take all the blame, and yet... it feels like I'm to blame for all of this. I know it's irrational, but I just can't stop those thoughts from taking over." Marth's voice was still quiet, but it didn't shake at all. He was remarkably calm, especially considering what he was saying. 

"Marth..." Caeda whispered. She leaned across the table and covered his hands with hers. "I know it's hard to accept, but please... know that you're not a failure. None of this could possibly be your fault. You couldn't have done more than you did, trust me. Nobody could have done more for their friends in that situation." 

"There has to be something I could have changed." Marth mumbled. 

"Look at me." Caeda said. Reluctantly, Marth raised his eyes from the table. "Thinking about stuff like that will only trap you in a downward spiral of self-hatred. I know, because I've been there. When I was ten, I started thinking about what I could have done to keep you from getting taken. And I couldn't stop myself from putting all the blame on me and me alone. I couldn't blame your abductor, the Headmaster, because I thought I had done something wrong. I thought that I could have stopped it. You need to look past what you did and didn't do, and only then will you be able to make peace with what happened."

"Does it... does it get easier?" Marth whispered, his voice breaking. 

"Eventually." Caeda whispered. "There is no quick or easy way back from something like this. But I promise I'll be with you every step of the way." 

"You don't need to-" Marth started to say, but Caeda stopped him. 

"Yes, I do. I need to help you through this because I can't bear to see you suffering." Caeda replied. 

And now all she had to do was say it. Just three words. She can do this, right? Yeah. Totally. 

Marth didn't protest further. Instead, he stayed quiet and just watched her for a few seconds. "You have something else to say. I can tell."

Caeda was quiet for a long time. How was she supposed to respond to that? Did she just outright say it?

Gods, why was she making this so hard? All she had to do was say it. Speak first, worry later. That was the best course of action here, right? Right. Maybe. Yes. 

Augh, she felt like slamming her head against a wall. This back-and-forth kind of stuff was exactly what had delayed her confession thus far, but now she was committed. It was now or never. 

"It's... complicated." Caeda mumbled, removing her hands from Marth's and hiding her face behind them. 

"Just try your best. I understand." Marth replied kindly. Without looking up, Caeda could tell that he was smiling softly at her. Which, of course, only made the words freeze up in her throat more. 

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Inhale, exhale. You can do this. 

"I think I'm in love with you." Caeda blurted, still hiding her face. 

When she finally did peek out to gauge Marth's reaction, his face was bright red and he was looking away from her. He looked back at her shortly afterwards, and embarrassment was written all over his face. He managed to compose himself shortly afterwards, but the image was burned into Caeda's brain. 

She'd messed up. Big time. 

"Are you in love with a memory, or who I am now?" Marth asked quietly. He sounded a lot more confident than he looked, despite his expression. 

"At first, it was a memory." Caeda admitted. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on the table. If looks could burn an object, the table would likely have a hole in it by now. "But now, as I've gotten to know who you are now, that memory has faded. I know who you used to be, but... that doesn't matter. Who you were and who you are happen to be very different. You knew that already." 

Marth nodded, but he didn't let her off the hook that easily. "You haven't really answered my question." he said, voice a little louder than it had been previously. Caeda couldn't tell if that was out of anger or maybe just confidence. 

"I'm not in love with that memory anymore. Now, it's just you as you are." Caeda forced herself to look at him without hiding, even though she desperately wanted to dig a hole for herself and just hide. 

He exhaled, almost like he had been anxiously anticipating her answer. But why would he do that if he didn't feel the same way? 

"Give me one day. Tomorrow, I will have an answer for you. I apologize for the wait, but... I have some things I must work through in my own head." Marth stated. 

Caeda's shoulders slumped in relief. So maybe he didn't hate her for springing this on him. She could wait another day for his answer. Well, she would be willing to wait forever for him, but she wisely chose not to voice her thoughts. She didn't want to creep him out or anything. "Of course, Marth." Caeda replied. 

Shortly afterwards, Caeda remembered that she had a strategy meeting with Chrom and several other high-ranking officers. With a rushed apology, she exited Marth's apartment and tried to regather her thoughts. 

She'd really just done that. 

And now Marth might hate her. 

Well, shit. 

That could've gone better.


	28. I TRUST YOU.

Marth had spent the entirety of yesterday pacing anxiously. He'd skipped a training session because he was too busy worrying, and now he had one hour- _ONE HOUR!_ before he was supposed to meet Caeda at the park and give her his answer. 

And he still had absolutely no idea what he was going to say. 

How did he feel about her? How could he even begin to tell somebody else "I love you" after only spending a short few months with them, trying to get over Roy's betrayal and preparing to go to war?

Oh, he really wanted someone to kill him. Why was he so nervous about this? It couldn't be that hard- wait, it was, mostly because he had no idea what he was going to tell her. 

He'd seen how flustered she had been after confessing. He'd seen her eyes begging him to believe her. And Marth wanted to believe that Caeda wasn't using him or playing him like a fool. He really did. 

She seemed so sincere, and if it hadn't been for the fact that his ability to trust had basically been destroyed... Marth would believe her. But that stupid voice in his head that told him nobody could be trusted was so loud. 

It was so loud, and Marth didn't know how to turn it down. 

With an aggravated sigh, Marth flopped down on his couch and closed his eyes, pressing his hands to his temples as if it would force his thoughts to move slower. Why did this have to be so complicated? Couldn't he just exist like he had before this? 

Apparently not. 

Of course, he knew that a sudden declaration of love kind of ruined friendships. The proof of that was Corrin and Sheik, before they'd actually communicated with each other. Now they were happy together, and Marth was glad that Sheik was actually marginally happier than they had been previously. 

But Marth really didn't want his friendship with Caeda to be ruined before they even got a chance to repair it. Even if he didn't have his memories of the time they'd spent together before the Headmaster screwed everything up, he knew that he had been important to Caeda. So she must have been important to him. 

She had become the only person he felt that he might be able to trust. But he couldn't say that he trusted her completely, because Marth didn't know if he'd ever fully trust someone again. After all, he'd done that with Roy, despite knowing that the other boy lied about small stuff all the time. 

The fact that he had been wrong, and the fact that he had been so wrong and then figuratively stabbed in the back was just... 

He couldn't get over it, as stupid and as pathetic as it sounded. He knew he had to move on, or he'd get stuck in the past and then drive himself insane. 

If he wasn't already insane. The amount of times he'd laid in bed, wide awake and exhausted but unable to sleep was far too high. Recently, even before Caeda had confessed to him, the thoughts that kept him up had slowly started to turn from Roy to the blue-haired girl who seemed so familiar and yet she wasn't, and how he felt about her.

How did he feel about Caeda? 

That was a complicated question, and now his thoughts had brought him in a circle. 

First things first. Was he trying to force himself into a decision because he didn't want to disappoint her? Or was he genuinely ready to take a step past being friends with her and closer to relationship territory? 

More questions he didn't quite know the answers to. He'd honestly be lucky to get out of this without going completely insane from pressure. 

Caeda was kind to him, but she didn't treat him like glass that was so fragile it could break at any moment. Lucina and the others did, which irritated Marth. Sure, he knew he had a bit of a temper nowadays, but he just wanted his friends to treat him like a person. Was that too much to ask? It went without saying that he appreciated Caeda treating him like a person. He actually preferred spending time with her over his sister or his other friends because of this. 

And yes, sometimes his heart would give a little jump or skip a few beats entirely when he thought about her. Sometimes, he would wish he knew how to tell a funny joke just to see her smile and hear her laugh. 

But that didn't mean he was in love with her. Maybe it was just a crush and not quite love yet. Marth could tell that his feelings weren't love yet, because he was pretty sure it took longer than a few months to fall in love with someone. He didn't even know what love was, did he?

He'd thought he loved Roy. And then it turned out he had fallen in love with the person he thought Roy was, not who he truly was. 

What if Caeda turned out to be the same way? What if she had just been lying to him, like Roy? 

He wanted to trust her. He really did. But he was terrified of being hurt again. Even while some part of him was screaming at him to trust her, the oh so loud little voice just told him that he was a fool for even thinking of trusting someone else. 

All of this back and forth was making him want to slam his head into the wall. 

Marth turned his wrist so he could check his watch, and he was both alarmed and relieved to see that he only had thirty more minutes to come to a decision. 

Then he realized that he needed to allocate time to actually get to the park, which cut his time down by another fifteen minutes if he decided to walk. 

This day was going great, wasn't it? It was probably a good thing he'd only given himself a day, really. Otherwise he was more likely to just not show up out of fear. But he'd made a deal, and for her... he would stick to it. 

If his motivation for doing this was actually Caeda, did that mean he harbored minor romantic feelings for her? How did people even know when they liked somebody romantically, anyway? 

Questions, questions, questions. His doubt was getting him nowhere. He needed to make a decision. He needed to stop second-guessing himself. 

The basis of any relationship, friendly or romantic, was trust. Marth wanted to trust Caeda. So maybe he could try his hardest to trust her by becoming her boyfriend. 

...Where had that thought come from?

Marth sat up. "Do I want to go out with Caeda?" He asked himself out loud. Somehow, saying it out loud helped tremendously. 

Because he found himself- both sides of himself, the negative and the positive- agreeing. 

Yes, he wanted to be her boyfriend. 

He could take it slow, right? He didn't have to say he loved her if he wasn't quite sure yet, right? 

Right.

Not everybody waited until they were in love to get into a relationship. Sometimes it was just romantic feelings that weren't necessarily love, which later turned into love. 

Gods, this was confusing. 

His mind was still reeling with this new realization as he put on his shoes and a grey sweatshirt, then exited his apartment and locked the door behind him. On the way to the park, Marth rehearsed what he was going to say in his head, because he wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. 

When he arrived at the park, his breath caught in his throat as he spotted Caeda's familiar blue hair. She was here already, and he'd kept her waiting? Oh, you failure of a person, Marth. How could you get this wrong? Anxiously, Marth checked his watch again. He wasn't actually late, so that meant Caeda had gotten here early. 

Taking a deep breath and steeling himself for what was to come, making sure he knew exactly what to say, Marth walked forwards to meet her. 

"Hey, Caeda. Sorry if I kept you waiting." Marth said, smiling a little out of embarrassment. 

"I was here a bit earlier than I thought I would be." Caeda scratched the back of her head awkwardly and looked down, keeping her gaze fixed on her shoes. Almost like she couldn't even bear to meet his eyes. 

That thought hurt, actually. It hurt a lot. 

"So. Uh." Marth started to speak, then he stopped and cleared his throat. "I did some thinking. After you left, and all this morning, that is." 

Caeda nodded, but she didn't say anything. She did raise her eyes to his face, which both helped and didn't help him focus. 

All of his barely-rehearsed speech went out the window as a sudden wave of anxiety washed over him. He couldn't do this. There was no way. At worst, if he lied and said that he loved her back, then he'd be just like Roy. Of course, he could always just tell her the truth, but he also didn't want to break her heart. He cared about her too much to do that. 

"You know how it goes, sometimes." Marth murmured. "I get stuck in my head and I can't figure out what I feel. It took me so long to even work up the nerve to think about what I've decided."

"I know, and you don't need to force yourself to tell me anything before you're ready. I understand, I really do." Caeda whispered, giving him a reassuring smile. 

As much as his feelings were jumbled and confused, Marth knew he loved Caeda's smile. He didn't know if he was actually completely in love with her, but he just wanted to see her smiling. He wanted to see her happy. 

"I did figure one thing out, though." Marth said, his voice a little louder and more confident now. "I want to go out with you. I want to be your boyfriend."

"Not the smoothest way I've ever been asked out." Caeda laughed softly. "But who gives a damn? I'd be honored to call you my boyfriend." 

Marth wasn't really keen on physical contact, but now he found himself stepping forward and just hugging Caeda. It surprised him as much as it surprised her, but she hugged him back after a second. 

"This is all just a formality, really." Marth whispered, his head resting on Caeda's shoulder. "But even so... it needed to be said."

"You're right. Still, I know you skipped a training session to think. Please don't do that again. I don't want you to miss something that might save your life one day, alright?" Caeda whispered. 

"Skipping one day of practice won't kill me later on. I know that our training now is also just to get us used to how we should have been treated, really. We're not learning anything new, besides things that are a bit more specialized with our Gifts. All the combat forms and such... my friends and I all knew them already." Marth replied, sighing softly. 

"I have no influence with what you guys learn. All I can tell you is that war will not go the way you think, Marth. And if this sounds selfish, I'm sorry. But I only just found you again, and I couldn't bear to lose you a second time." Caeda whispered. She rested her own head on Marth's shoulder and took a deep breath. 

Marth took a moment to think before replying. Of course, he knew that war was unpredictable, and it was likely that he would die- him or any one of his friends, really. But gods damn him if he wasn't going to try his hardest to prevent any one of his friends dying on him. "I swear I'm going to do my best to keep myself alive. But you will always be more important that I am."

Caeda didn't reply. 

His heart sped up and started doing little flips in his chest. He was about to say "I love you," but something stopped him. He literally nearly choked on the words. So, instead, he said something that held basically the same meaning for him now. 

"I trust you."


	29. YOU WORRY TOO MUCH.

It was early in the morning. Corrin couldn't sleep, which surprised him. The day before had been a particularly challenging training session, which had been centered around giving him more control over his actions when he transformed. It had been successful, but it had also left him in a weird state of mind that was half primal instincts thanks to his dragon blood and half regular human brain. 

He wasn't sure what part of his brain was keeping him awake now, but he really wished he could just go back to sleep. Sighing softly, Corrin glanced away from the ceiling that he had been staring at for what felt like the past hour and down at Sheik, who was sleeping next to him. It was almost a miracle that the blond boy had stayed asleep for so long, seeing as he had long been haunted by nightmares. Several times, Sheik had described what he saw while he slept, his face pale and his shoulders shaking. 

_"I see death. I watch you or Zelda die, tortured and beaten until you scream, but the Headmaster won't stop."_

_"Sometimes I relive what happened to me. If I don't dream of your death, I dream of my own torture. I experience it as if it is happening again, and sometimes the memory of the Caretaker's hands on me lingers even after I wake."_

Almost subconsciously, Corrin brushed Sheik's bangs out of his eyes, even though he was sleeping. A soft smile touched his face, and he almost couldn't believe this was real despite the fact that it had been- what, nearly a month now? Yes, that sounded about right. In any case, this still felt so surreal. Despite the fact of the war they were all about to enter looming over their heads, Corrin felt more at peace than he ever had. He didn't really want moments like these to end, because it felt more right than anything he could remember. 

So what if he couldn't remember his childhood before being taken? None of his friends could, and nobody seemed to miss it all that much. Of course, there were always moments when Corrin missed what he had lost. Usually, that was in the presence of his so called family. They all tried to tell him this was who he had been and who he should be now, but Corrin found it harder and harder to connect with them. His blood relatives couldn't understand him now. And as cheesy as it sounded, his friends were his family now. They at least understood him. They knew what he confronted with each day he existed. They might not always treat him well, but that was to be expected in a friend group. You can't get along with everybody all the time, unfortunately. He had realized that a long time ago. 

Eventually, his thoughts lulled him to sleep. It was a relief that he was well aware he needed, but his head had kept him awake. His head often got in the way of things. Sheik used to tease him about how he worried too much, but that was before things had changed. That was before he had been broken. Now, Sheik worried just as much as Corrin did. 

They had all changed. Thanks to the Headmaster and their cruel treatment, none of his friends were the same people they had been before. And while that may not have been the most pleasant thought to have as sleep whisked him away, it didn't bring any dreams along with it. 

././.

When Corrin woke up again, it was midmorning. A quick glance over at the clock told him that he had about an hour and thirty minutes before training would begin for the day. Sheik wasn't lying next to him when he woke up, which was a bit concerning. Usually, Sheik slept longer than he did, since it took him longer to get to sleep in the first place. He dismissed the brief worries that came to mind when he heard the sound of something sizzling in a pan. The sound came from the direction of the kitchen, so it was safe to assume Sheik was cooking breakfast. 

Corrin yawned and stood up, grabbing his favorite sweatshirt and slipping it on as he did so. He didn't really feel like getting dressed properly yet, since he did have some time to wait before he had to leave. Moving a bit slower than he usually did thanks to his brain still trying to wake up a bit, Corrin exited the bedroom and walked into the main room of the apartment. From here, he could see that Sheik was standing at the stove, cooking breakfast. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Sheik teased, looking over his shoulder as Corrin walked up behind him. He had a light smile on his face, which was quickly hidden as he turned his attention back to the pan. It looked like he was making omelettes. 

"Very funny." Corrin replied. Though his tone was sarcastic, he couldn't stop himself from grinning. He'd missed the light teasing that they did more than he had realized. 

"I'll be done with these in a couple minutes. Would you mind grabbing some plates?" Sheik reached for a spatula and flipped the closest omelette, causing an impressive hissing noise. 

"Of course." Corrin leaned in and kissed him briefly on the cheek, laughing when Sheik pushed him back and called him a dork. 

He turned and reached for the plates, grabbing two and setting them on the counter. Then, he opened the silverware drawer and retrieved two cheap forks. Once he was finished with his assigned task, he leaned back against the opposite counter and watched his boyfriend, a soft smile on his face. 

Shortly afterwards, Sheik turned off the heat of the small oven and transferred the now-finished omelettes to the plates that Corrin had laid out. He handed one of the plates to Corrin, then gestured over to the couch. "Shall we sit down?"

"Yeah." Corrin accepted the plate, then walked over to the couch. Sheik joined him shortly afterwards, but something felt... off about his boyfriend as he sat down. "Are you alright?" Corrin asked softly, momentarily forgetting about his omelette. 

"I didn't sleep well last night." Sheik murmured. His eyes looked troubled, but he sighed and forced a smile. "I'm fine now, though."

Corrin set his breakfast aside and rested his hands on Sheik's. His hands were sitting on his lap, his own breakfast seemingly forgotten. "Hey. You don't have to lie to me. Something is clearly bothering you."

"I'm fine, Corrin. Trust me." Sheik turned his hands and held Corrin's, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, Corrin saw a brief flicker of pain cross his face, but it was gone quickly. 

Unfortunately, the moment of pain in his eyes was accompanied by a sharp electric shock. Corrin jerked his hands away and hissed in pain, rubbing his hands together. Sheik's eyes widened, and he groaned. "Damn it. I'm sorry, Corrin."

"It's fine." Corrin replied. "It startled me, that's all." 

Sheik remained silent. Clearly he was frustrated, seeing as he'd been trying to get his Gift under control during moments of stress or overwhelming anxiety. 

"Look, something is bothering you. You wouldn't have shocked me otherwise, Sparky." Corrin pointed out, using the nickname he knew Sheik both hated and loved at the same time. 

"You worry too much." Sheik mumbled, rolling his eyes at the nickname and yet suppressing a smile. 

"Sheik. I'm serious." 

"Corrin. I'm telling you, I'm fine."

They stared at each other for a moment until Corrin finally raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, I believe you. You better not be hiding something from me, okay?"

"I'm not!" Sheik protested. 

"I've heard that before." Corrin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't want you to keep something a secret if it's hurting you. On that note, eat your breakfast. You'll starve." 

"Yes, Father." Sheik said, voice heavy with sarcasm. Still, he picked up his plate and his fork, then started picking at his omelette. 

Corrin shoved him playfully and picked up his own plate, because he was only now realizing how hungry he was. They ate in silence after that, which was a little awkward. He could tell that Sheik was frustrated, but he didn't really know how to ask what was wrong without risking upsetting him more. Something was definitely up with him, but Corrin knew that he'd have to wait until he was ready to explain. 

That only made this whole situation weirder and a little worrying. 

After they were both finished, Corrin stood and collected the dishes. He set them in the sink and then turned back to face his boyfriend. He saw the little orange bottle that Sheik tried to hide and sighed. "Sheik, you don't have to hide your pills from me." 

"I fucking hate these things." Sheik said, slamming the bottle down and running a hand through his hair. "They're supposed to help, but all they do is make me feel worse. They make it harder to keep myself in control." As if to demonstrate his point, he held up his left hand. It was visibly shaking, and sparks of electricity bounced from finger to finger. 

"Hey." Corrin took a step closer, holding out his hands in a placating way. "Take a deep breath. As soon as this prescription runs out, I'll help you talk to the pharmacist and get it adjusted, okay?"

Sheik did as he was told, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The sparks disappeared, and slowly the tension in his shoulders eased. "I'm sorry. I'm being dramatic. Gods, these things fuck with my head." 

"You're alright." Corrin said, smiling reassuringly at him. "Do you think you can go to practice today?"

"I- Yeah. Yes, I think so." Sheik nodded hesitantly, then looked over at the clock. "We should get going, we're cutting it pretty close as it is."

"Let me get changed first, and then we can go." Corrin remarked, looking down at his boxers-and-sweatshirt combo that he was currently wearing. 

"Yeah, uh, that might be a good idea." Sheik laughed and scratched the back of his head. Corrin could have sworn he saw a light blush on his boyfriend's face, but he decided not to question it. 

With that, he re-entered the bedroom and changed, pulling on some athletic shorts and a grey t-shirt. He grabbed some white socks and tried to put them on while standing, which resulted in him nearly losing his balance with a surprised shout. "I'm fine!" Corrin yelled before Sheik could poke his head in to see what was wrong. 

"I doubt that, but okay!" Sheik replied. 

After the mishap with his socks, Corrin decided it would be smarter to sit down while he put the socks on. Once he did that, he walked out of the bedroom and went hunting for his shoes. They were sitting by the door where he had left them, but he didn't check there right away because he's kind of forgetful. At least when it comes to shoes, that is. Sheik already had his shoes on, and he was ready to go. Finally, Corrin located his tennis shoes and slipped them on. 

"Alright, let's go." Corrin said as he stood up. 

"You might need this." Sheik teased, handing him the Yato blade. It was in its sheath, thankfully, otherwise Corrin might have been without a limb at the moment. 

"You're lucky this wasn't unsheathed." Corrin grumbled playfully. "I'd be bleeding out if that was the case."

"That's why you pay attention, my dear." Sheik patted Corrin's head and laughed. 

"Okay, we really should get going now." Corrin cleared his throat and removed Sheik's hand from his head. 

So they were off. The area where the group was being trained was a bit of an odd place, as it wasn't anywhere near the Rebellion Headquarters. Instead, it was somewhere in the residential district, as odd as that sounded. The training room was essentially a large studio apartment, which was owned collectively by the combat professors. Immediately upon entering, the large sparring floor was visible. Racks of weapons, both real and wooden, lined the walls. Ike and Link were sparring, the sword combat professor Alm watching their battle intently. Celica was instructing Robin in the art of using a tome, like usual. That left Marth and Lucina receiving some extra pointers from the secondary sword professor, Eliwood. Zelda and Samus were practicing archery with a regular bow and arrow under the close supervision of Shamir, the archery combat professor. 

"Glad you could join us." Eliwood said, barely glancing up at the two boys. 

Suddenly, Sheik spun around, drawing his dagger and assuming a ready stance. Alarmed, Corrin looked behind him- 

Only to see Kaze, the mysterious self-defense and stealth combat professor, standing behind him with a dagger directed at Sheik. 

"Very good." Kaze remarked, sheathing his dagger. "Your reflexes are on point, as usual. However, you were unfortunately slow to realize I was following you." 

Sheik nodded. The scarf he'd slipped on as they left his apartment obscured most of his expression, but Corrin could tell that he was a little irritated by his minor failure. 

"Although you did much better than Corrin did." Kaze said, patting Sheik's shoulder as he walked past him. "Sorry." he muttered to Corrin, shrugging elegantly. "You're not quite as perceptive as he is."

Corrin sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm better suited to head-on combat. Never really had the patience for espionage anyway." he explained. 

"In any case, your battlefield awareness could use some work. You won't live very long if you can't tell when someone's following you." Kaze pointed out. 

"I'll keep him alive." Sheik said, nudging Corrin's shoulder playfully. "I'd be sad if you died because you were being an idiot."

"Aw." Corrin couldn't help but feel a goofy grin creep onto his face. 

Kaze cleared his throat. "Boys, there's a time and a place for romance. And this is neither the time or the place. Corrin, why don't you join Marth and Lucina? They're waiting for their turn on the sparring floor, but I'm sure they wouldn't object to you joining them." 

"Of course, sensei." Sheik replied, bowing his head slightly. The show of respect, coupled with the foreign word, was fairly jolting to see. An accent Corrin didn't even know Sheik had colored his voice as he spoke the last word, which was undeniably attractive. After realizing he was staring, Corrin felt himself blush. He cleared his throat and looked away, then remembered that he was supposed to go join Marth, Lucina, and Eliwood. So he walked away, shaking his head a bit to clear the rebellious thoughts from his head. 

Lucina noticed him first, and she smiled cheerfully at him. "Hey Corrin! Good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Lucina. Mind if I join you two?" Corrin asked. 

"Of course. We'll do a rotation and try to hurry these fights up a bit." Eliwood cut in, every bit the businesslike instructor. The most startling thing about him was his resemblance to his son, Roy. He literally looked like an older version of the lying bastard. 

Sometimes, Corrin had to do a double take when he glanced at Eliwood. Sometimes his kind blue eyes would morph into Roy's cruel blue eyes, and his red hair would turn into his son's messier red hair that was barely held back by a blue armored band. 

And if Corrin felt this way, who knew how Marth felt?

"Sounds good." Marth replied, once Lucina and Corrin had nodded in agreement.

"Perfect. Marth, why don't you and Lucina spar as planned, then Corrin can spar with Link." Eliwood said, noticing Ike and Link as they walked over while deep in conversation with Alm. 

"Man, that last strike... I definitely didn't see that one coming." Ike chuckled and patted Link on the back. Since his first assignment a week ago, Ike had been more upbeat than usual. It was quite odd, but it made more sense once Corrin caught sight of the soft glances Ike occasionally sent Samus's way. In all honesty, the way Ike looked at her reminded Corrin of the way he looked at Sheik. 

But now he was getting sidetracked. Ike and Link had joined the swordfighters circle, and Alm returned to the open space in the middle of the room with Marth and Lucina. 

"I'd like you three to pay attention to Marth's stance. Of all of you, he's the most balanced when he strikes. Would any of you like to tell me why a balanced stance is important?" Eliwood asked. After he spoke, he coughed slightly and winced. 

"Are you alright?" Link asked, looking puzzled.

Eliwood nodded. "My lungs don't work as well as they used to." he wheezed. "Sometimes just standing tires me out. I'll be fine, kid."

That was obviously a lie, but no one bothered to call him out on it. 

Marth and Lucina's sparring match had largely been forgotten by now, and Eliwood didn't seem to have the energy to bring their attention back to it. Corrin was trying to focus, but it was awfully hard when he could hear Ike and Link joking around about something that he didn't really care about. 

"Ike, my man, you've honestly got to get better at being subtle when it comes to what you and Samus do in your spare time." Link remarked. 

"I don't know what you mean." Ike replied, and Corrin couldn't quite tell if he was being oblivious on purpose or not. 

Corrin sighed and shook his head. "Could you maybe wait until I'm out of earshot to talk about that stuff?"

"What's the matter? Not comfortable joking around about getting laid?" Link asked casually. 

"Yeah, actually. I'm not." Corrin replied flatly. He looked past Ike, spotting Kaze and Sheik making their way over to the circle. 

"I mean, you haven't had any experience with it yet, have you? So I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't exactly want to joke about it." Ike raised an eyebrow at him while he spoke, seeming quite satisfied with his reasoning. 

Link shrugged. "I mean, I haven't technically slept with anyone yet, but that doesn't stop me."

"Can we just drop this, please? We're supposed to be watching Marth and Lucina spar, not talking about getting laid." Corrin said. 

"Speaking of that... when are you getting it from your boyfriend?" Ike asked, shifting the collar of his shirt ever so conspicuously. 

"What the hell?" Corrin exclaimed, turning to look at Ike with an incredulous look on his face. He could hardly believe what he'd just heard. Had Ike actually just said that? 

"Uh... Ike, not cool." Link said, looking a bit upset himself. "You do know what happened to him, right?"

"He wouldn't have asked such a dumb question if he did!" Corrin had to force himself to lower his voice, lest he catch the attention of Eliwood, who was still focused on trying to breathe properly. 

"Hey man, it was just a question." Ike raised his hands defensively and backed away a bit. 

"It was a stupid question." Corrin grumbled. "Look, you idiot, if you never ask me that again, it'll be too soon. Fuck you."

With that, Corrin walked off. He wasn't really sure where he was going, since there wasn't a whole lot of space to spread out and avoid the idiot he was friends with. Eventually, he settled on archery with Samus and Zelda. He didn't exactly enjoy archery, but the sound of an arrow hitting the target was pretty satisfying to hear. 

"Corrin. Shouldn't you be with the swordfighters?" Shamir asked, turning her head to look at him. 

"Ike pissed me off. Thought I'd try and brush up on my archery skills instead." Corrin responded. He picked up a bow and tested the draw weight, finding it to be a bit too light. Shamir noticed this, and she tossed him a tool to adjust the bow's draw weight. He nodded his thanks and adjusted the bow after a brief struggle, then tested it again. Now that it was adjusted, it was perfect. He grabbed some arrows and a floor quiver, then placed the arrows inside the quiver and placed it on the firing line. 

"What'd he do now?" Samus asked with a sigh. She nocked an arrow on the string of her bow and drew it back, aiming carefully and releasing after a moment. It ended up hitting the inner red ring, and she sighed in disappointment.

"Take more time to aim, Samus. You're a beginner, I don't expect you to have a quick aiming time yet." Shamir said. 

Corrin nocked an arrow and aimed at the target, giving himself time to collect his thoughts. He took a moment to double check and then triple check his aiming point, then released the bowstring. The arrow flew forwards and hit the outer yellow ring, which was quite good considering he wasn't very good at archery. 

"Very good, Corrin. Drop your aiming point down a little for next time." Shamir said. 

"To answer your question, Samus, he said some shit that I didn't exactly like. You can ask him about it later, I'm sure he'd love to tell you." Corrin replied, well aware that he sounded bitter. He didn't really care. 

Thankfully, Samus didn't ask any more questions. Zelda had been ignoring them and continuing to practice, which Corrin wished he could have done earlier with Ike and Link. The three teenagers practiced in silence until their practice was over. Corrin's fingers and upper arm muscles were aching, but it was worth it. He honestly felt like he'd improved his archery skills. 

"Hey, Corrin. I wanted to talk to you about something real quick." Zelda said as Corrin was returning his bow and arrows. 

"Yeah?" Corrin asked, standing up properly and looking at her. He wasn't quite sure what Zelda could want with him, since she'd already given him the whole "you hurt my brother any more than he's already been hurt, and you're fucking toast" speech. 

"Are you doing alright? You seem a bit down." Zelda looked tired herself, but also actually concerned about him. Weird, considering that not too many people would actually bother to see how he's doing. 

"I'm fine. Just frustrated with Ike." Corrin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Before you ask, he said some inappropriate stuff about Sheik and I. Specifically, he asked me when we were going to sleep together." 

The concern on Zelda's face morphed into shock and then anger. "I can't believe he'd actually ask something so stupid!" Zelda exclaimed after a long moment of silence. 

"I know! It's ridiculous!" Corrin agreed.

"Gods, I hate people sometimes." Zelda said, shaking her head in annoyance. "Anyways, are you sure that's the only thing bothering you?"

Corrin nodded. "Yep. Do I seem down or something?"

"Just a bit. I suppose it makes sense, though." Zelda replied. "You know that if you ever need to talk, you can trust me, right?"

The gesture of kindness and genuine concern for his well-being was actually really nice. Granted, Sheik was usually worrying about him for some reason or another, so he'd gotten used to it. One thing that he'd learned was that most of the other teens didn't honestly care too much about him. He was usually pushed aside unless he actively tried to involve himself in the conversation, and then things like what had happened with Ike earlier ended up killing his interest in socializing. 

"Of course, Zelda. I appreciate it." Corrin said, grinning halfheartedly at her. Normally he would have been a lot more awkward, but he was just tired. So that was kind of a blessing by itself- instead of spending a minute or two debating over how he was supposed to respond to something like that, he just said what any normal person would say and left it like that. 

Laughable, really. Neither he nor any of his friends were normal after what they'd gone through. 

Zelda returned the smile, then looked past him and said a quick goodbye. Corrin turned to see who she had spotted, then sighed mentally when he saw Link. Of course she would prefer Link's company over his. Oh well. It's not like he cared all that much. 

He really needed to find some people to hang out with outside of his current friend group. 

Suddenly, there was a soft tap on his shoulder. Startled, Corrin whirled around to see Sheik standing there, his arms crossed and his eyes alight with amusement. Corrin could tell that he was laughing at him, even if he couldn't see Sheik's smile due to his mask. 

"Come on, daydreamer. We should get going." Sheik said, sounding highly amused. 

"I need to tie a bell to your wrist or something. You're too quiet when you want to be." Corrin grumbled playfully, beginning the walk to the exit as he spoke. 

Sheik's only response was a small laugh. He seemed to be much happier than he had been this morning, which was good to see. 

././.

It wasn't until much later that evening that Sheik brought up the subject of Ike's question. They were just relaxing on the couch in Corrin's apartment, watching a movie. Movies were something that Shulk had been incredibly excited to show off to the teens, and the magic of seeing these different worlds come to life on a screen still hadn't quite worn off yet. When the movie that the two boys had been watching together ended, Sheik picked up the remote control and muted the television while the credits played. 

"I heard what Ike asked you earlier." Sheik said, his voice quieter than Corrin had ever heard it. 

"It was a stupid question. Ike had no right to ask me that question." Corrin responded. 

"I just- I can't help but feel like he was-" Sheik started saying, but Corrin cut him off. 

"No. Don't even go there." Corrin said forcefully. He took Sheik's hands, holding them in his own and taking a deep breath. "You know that I would never force you into something that you're not ready for, right? My own feelings on the matter aren't important, because I'd much rather see you happy rather than suffering because of something I did to you." 

Sheik didn't respond for a while. He stared at their intertwined hands, clearly thinking about something. Times like these were moments where he wished that Sheik would just talk to him, but the habits of the years they'd all spent in a place where admitting to weakness was seen as worse than the actual thing itself would be tricky to break. 

But until Sheik was ready to talk, Corrin would have to wait. Which was no problem, really. He was a patient guy. 

"I don't even know what I want anymore. My head says one thing, and my heart says another. I can't even trust myself sometimes. But I know that the memory of those _hands_ on me overpowers anything my heart might have to say about this topic. I'm sorry, but I just don't-" Sheik cut himself off with an aggravated sigh. He released one of Corrin's hands to use his own hand to cover his face briefly, which was something he only did when he was really stressed out. 

"Hey. It's alright. You don't need to apologize to me. Really, I should be apologizing to you. I shouldn't have even gotten involved in that conversation to begin with." Corrin said, squeezing his boyfriend's hand reassuringly. 

"This isn't your fault." Sheik whispered.

"Then it isn't yours either. Stop trying to take the blame for things you didn't do." Corrin raised his hand and brushed some of Sheik's hair out of his face. Sheik raised his hand and put it over Corrin's, leaning into the touch almost like a cat who wanted attention. 

"It's hard." Sheik whispered. "I can't help but feel like so much of the stuff that's happened to me is my fault, so logically this would be my fault too."

Before he responded, Corrin pulled Sheik into a hug. It was a bit awkward, due to their positions on the couch, but he managed to do it anyway. Sheik tensed up as he was pulled forwards, but he slowly relaxed as he realized what was happening. Tentatively, his arms slipped around Corrin's waist, returning the hug. 

"Nothing that has happened to you could possibly be your fault. You haven't done anything to warrant getting hurt this badly. You didn't choose to be tortured for who you are. I know it's hard to accept, but I believe in you." Corrin whispered. 

Sheik's arms tightened around his waist, and he rested his head on Corrin's shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too, Sparky." Corrin murmured, a smile finding its way onto his face. 

Moments like these were what made Corrin feel truly at peace. Even though they hadn't been discussing a very comfortable subject prior to the hug, this was nice. Sheik wasn't very big on physical contact, which was totally understandable. That only made the rare hugs feel better, for lack of an easier description. 

"You know I hate that nickname." Sheik mumbled, but Corrin could hear the repressed laughter in his voice. 

"You're laughing. Don't deny it. You secretly enjoy being called Sparky." Corrin teased, not even bothering to keep his smile from turning into a smirk. 

"I'm not answering that." Sheik said. 

"You don't have to. I can read you like a book." Corrin said smugly. "Besides, if you really hate it that much, I'll stop."

"...No, you don't need to do that." The admission was barely audible, yet thanks to his subtly sharper hearing due to his Gift, Corrin heard every word of it. 

"I knew it!" Corrin exclaimed. "I told you so."

"Whatever." Sheik was trying to cover up his embarrassment, which only made his true feelings for the nickname plain as day. He let go of his hold on Corrin and returned to sitting on the couch itself, which was a bit of a disappointment. However, it did offer him a view of Sheik's bright red face. It was a small price to pay, really. Seeing Sheik all flustered like this wasn't exactly something that happened often. 

"You're adorable when you're flustered." Corrin laughed softly and ruffled Sheik's hair. 

"Be quiet." Sheik grumbled, though the smile on his face was hard to miss. 

Despite the way the day had begun and what had happened at today's training session, Sheik seemed to be truly happy. That was more than worth everything had happened, really. True moments of happiness were so rare for him. 

Corrin would gladly go through hell for him. He would endure anything for his sake. 

It might be a bold statement, but he really was one for grand gestures. When it came down to it, he was definitely a romantic at heart.


	30. KEEP IT A SECRET.

"See you two later!" Lucina waved in the general direction of her brother and his girlfriend, a happy smile on her face. She was sitting on the couch in her apartment, Robin next to her and focused on the television screen. He had the grace to look over and wave farewell to Marth and Caeda, but he nearly jumped off the couch itself when he heard the sound cue he'd been waiting for. 

"There! It's right there!" Robin exclaimed. "Look!"

Lucina looked away from the door and at the screen, spotting the object that had caused Robin's outburst. "So it wasn't a prank after all! That's awesome!"

Of course, Lucina already knew that it hadn't been a prank. Perks of being able to see the future and all that. But she didn't bring it up to Robin, because she knew he'd be a bit upset by how she was "cheating" when all she was doing was using her resources.

Thinking about how she'd been trying to get her Gift under control was a bit of an upsetting subject, though. The work she'd been doing had only made her Gift more uncontrollable, and now she was getting visions when she didn't want them. Such as when she slept. That was rather unfortunate- okay, it was really annoying. Especially when the visions weren't so pleasant. 

Sometimes she couldn't quite keep her visions and reality separate. It had lead to a lot of... problems in the past few weeks, but she was working on it. Kind of. 

It was a little difficult to explain why she thought Robin had misplaced his book again when in fact, he had it right in front of him. Marth had started teasing her a bit about "early onset memory loss," which Lucina hadn't really appreciated that much. 

Still, the fact that these were just visions and therefore not real (yet) was a bit of a comfort. Lucina didn't want to tell anybody that she was having problems keeping her Gift under control, because that would only lead to questions about what she was seeing. Which was a problem in and of itself- the future was a damn fickle thing. It was literally always changing. Her visions were only right about fifty percent of the time because of this, which was... unsettling and a relief at the same time.

"...Lucina, are you still listening to me?" Robin asked, sounding a bit embarrassed. 

"What?" Lucina blinked and looked over at him, realizing that she'd totally just zoned out on him. Whoops. "I'm sorry, Robin. What were you saying?"

"Nevermind. It's not that important." Robin laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to zone out on you." Lucina said, feeling a bit of an embarrassed blush rise to her face. 

"You're fine. I know that I talk too much when I'm passionate about something." Robin replied, shaking his head for emphasis. 

"I should have been listening. I'm just kind of... preoccupied, I guess." Lucina sighed and leaned back on the couch. It was true, she was feeling a bit down. There wasn't really a specific reason why, she just was. 

Robin frowned slightly. Clearly he could tell that something was off about her. Of course, it's not like Lucina could really hide anything from him. "Do you want to talk about it?" Robin asked. 

"I'm not even really sure what's got me feeling so... eh." Lucina responded, determined to look anywhere but at Robin. He was distracting. Like, really distracting. 

"Try to talk through it. I'll listen. And hey, it might make you feel better." Robin smiled crookedly at her, and Lucina felt her heart skip a beat. Or three. 

"I don't know..." Lucina said hesitantly. "I think a lot of it is just me worrying about the future."

That clearly caught Robin's attention. Lucina didn't like to talk about her Gift, so her initiating a conversation about it was rare. "Oh?"

Lucina nodded. "I'm sure it's nothing. My Gift is probably just acting up because of stress. Still, it's getting a little out of hand."

"What have you been seeing?" Robin asked. 

"You know I don't like talking about my visions if I'm not sure they're harmless. The future is... hard to see. It's very fluid. Small things can change a person's destiny." Lucina said softly. "I don't want to tell someone that they'll get hurt without a solid reason to suspect it." 

"Of course." Robin held out his hand, and Lucina took it. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, and his smile-

Oh, gods. His smile. 

Despite her less than happy mood, Lucina found herself smiling back at him. 

"If you don't mind, would you tell me what's going on with Marth and Caeda?" Robin asked, changing the subject. 

"They're dating. Have been for... three days? Yeah. Three days now." Lucina answered. 

"I see." Robin sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment, obviously thinking about something. When he opened his eyes again, he looked vaguely upset. "It's weird. Marth goes and starts dating Caeda without even talking to you first, but then..."

He didn't need to finish his sentence. Lucina's heart practically leapt into her throat at the very implication of dating Robin. She wanted that. She really did. But her brother didn't trust Robin enough.

Marth didn't see what she saw in Robin. That was frustrating, honestly. Why couldn't Marth see that Robin wasn't going to hurt her? He would never even _think_ about hurting her. 

"It's Marth. He's contradictory." Lucina laughed once. "But I'm not happy about it, either. I just don't know how to confront him about it. Because I do want to date you, Robin. I don't see what the problem is, honestly. You're the sweetest guy I've ever known."

"I'm also one of the only guys you've known." Robin pointed out, the gentle smile still on his face. 

"That's not the point, and you know it." Lucina replied. 

Suddenly, Robin reached over and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The gesture was so unexpected and, well, intimate, that Lucina inhaled sharply. She hadn't realized that she was leaning in ever so subtly, and Robin was so close now... 

"Lucina. Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?" Robin murmured. His breath ghosted across the skin of her face, and she wanted to just lean forward and kiss him. 

Instead of paying attention to the voice of common sense in her head that said this was a very bad idea, considering that Marth would flip out if he knew about this, Lucina leaned forward and kissed Robin. 

After a second, she leaned back and looked away. Embarrassment and shame fought for attention in her head, and Lucina whispered "Gods. Why'd I do that?"

Robin looked vaguely confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah. I feel like I'm leading you on." Lucina mumbled. "I want to be in a relationship with you. I really do. But I can't help but feel like it's a bad idea. Marth clearly has no intention of letting you date me, and I don't want to lie to him. He's been lied to enough." 

"Why would you let him keep you from doing what you want? I understand, he's your brother, but-" Robin started speaking, but Lucina cut him off when she heard where his sentence was going. 

"I told you, he's been lied to so many times. I don't want to hurt him any more than he's already been hurt." Lucina reminded Robin gently. "I just don't see how being in a relationship would work. We'd be lying to everybody. Even ourselves, if you think about it."

"A lie can't hurt anybody if it's never found out." Robin said.

"Secrets always get out. The lies we tell to hide the truth would only make us look worse." Lucina protested. 

"I don't really care. I'd rather have you in secret than not at all." Robin replied. 

"Robin, please, think this through. I won't live a lie. I can't do that to my brother, or our friends. Or myself. Relationships that are built on lies will never work. You saw what happened to Roy and Marth." Lucina said, a hint of frustration creeping into her voice. She wasn't yelling, though. Lucina rarely yelled. She was far too kind to do that. 

"But they were- and are- different. We could make it work. I believe in that." Robin said, taking her hand and just holding it. And without fail, her heart gave that little leap at the contact. 

"No, I don't think we could. Something would happen eventually. And then what would we do? I'd have betrayed my brother's trust, and if I did that to him... he'd have almost no one left. He really doesn't trust anybody anymore. He's keeping secrets from me, I can tell. So as much as I want to date you, I just don't see how it could work out." Lucina looked at Robin, regret and sorrow plain in her eyes. 

Robin shook his head stubbornly. "This won't end like that. If anything, that's the worst case scenario. Just because something _could_ happen doesn't mean that it _will_ happen. You should know that, Lucina."

"I'm trying to be realistic. I won't sacrifice my brother's trust for this, Robin. No matter how hard we hide it, and no matter how good our lies are, it won't work. As much as I want it to, it just won't work." Lucina 

"I understand." Robin replied. 

"I really don't think you do." Lucina sighed. "I'm sorry, Robin. It's just not a very good idea, no matter how good it may sound."

Her heart was practically trying to do a gymnastics routine in her chest. By now, she could hardly even look at him out of fear that she'd do something that she would regret. Like kiss him again. At the thought, Lucina inhaled sharply and tried to ignore the mental images that conjured up. 

"Luci. Look at me, please." Robin whispered. 

Oh gods. The nickname. Her heart could not handle this. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air between them, so thick she could almost see it. Slowly, Lucina looked over at Robin, forcing herself to look away from the spot on the wall that she had previously been fixated on. 

"I love you. I have loved you for as long as I can remember." Robin said plainly. 

"Robin, I-"

"So, you see, I'm not sure how we could remain friends. I hate that this could ruin not only our relationships with our friends and family, but with each other as well." Robin continued, efficiently cutting her off. 

"Then what are we supposed to do? A secret relationship will not work out, and our friendship will slowly fall apart because of our feelings for each other." Lucina pointed out. 

Robin nodded. He didn't respond for a moment, seemingly trying to puzzle the situation out. Knowing him, he wouldn't rest until he found a solution that made everything okay. But what if there wasn't? The only options that they had were, quite frankly, terrible to choose from. "We would have to pick the lesser of the two evils." Robin finally said, his voice quiet. 

"In other words, we have to pick between lying to everybody else or destroying our friendship?" Lucina asked. 

"Yeah. We have no other solutions, seeing as Marth has made his feelings on the matter clear. But I'm not going to force you to lie if that's not what you want." Robin responded. 

Another silence fell. Lucina tried to think of something that wouldn't end in her either betraying Marth's trust or losing Robin's friendship, but it was useless. What was she supposed to do in this situation? Choosing one over the other felt disloyal, but... really, there was only one option here. And as much as it pained Lucina to admit, she knew that she would have to lie to Marth. She couldn't lose Robin's friendship. He meant too much to her. 

"I really have no choice in this matter. I can't lose your friendship." Lucina whispered. 

"I don't want you to feel like you're being forced into this, though." Robin said. 

"Then I promise that I'm making this decision for myself." Lucina took a deep breath and continued speaking. "I love you too much to let you go, even as a friend. So I will lie for you. I will lie for the sake of our relationship."

"I'm sorry that it came to this." Robin murmured, though something in his voice sounded a bit... off. Lucina tried to ignore it, but it was a bit worrying. She felt a little terrible about this, if she was being honest. Lying to Marth like this... it didn't sit right with her. Not at all. 

"So am I, Robin. So am I."


	31. ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE.

Zelda was so tired all of the time. She couldn't explain it. She just was. Everything that was going on was so stressful. Trying to keep track of her friends- who, now that they were actually allowed to explore romantic relationships, were finding that their friendships with certain people were evolving in new and unfamiliar ways- was just... exhausting. The one bright side was that Sheik seemed to be improving, seeing as he was more willing to actually have a conversation with her about his feelings. Sure, he wasn't willing to talk about how he felt all of the time, but it was a start. 

Naturally, thinking about everything that was going on with her friends and their relationships only led her to Link. Every single time, without fail, Link was at the end of the proverbial path of her thoughts. 

And every single time, she managed to get her emotions into a tangled up mess. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about Link, but she was almost entirely certain that he didn't see her in the same way that she saw him. Which was weird to think about, because he was supposed to be her best friend. But at some point, those feelings had changed from regular friendliness to... whatever she was feeling now. Love? Attraction? A combination of the two? 

"This fucking sucks." Zelda groaned and closed her eyes, leaning back on her bed. Even though there was a mess of emotions whirling through her head, her overall approach to the situation was unconcerned. Almost apathetic, really. She didn't feel too bothered by the confusing mess she had to make sense of. Which probably wasn't normal, but then again... Zelda had stopped worrying about being "normal" a long time ago. Ever since she met her parents, really. They meant well, but there was a very clear separation from who her parents thought she was and who she really was. She knew everybody else felt it too.

Who had she been, as a little girl? Had she been happy? She couldn't remember anything. The early years of her childhood were foggy at best, and downright gone at worst. Sometimes, when she slept, a memory would drift through her head. The memories were usually fragmented recollections of nonsensical moments. Just last night she had recalled an afternoon where she was playing in a sandbox with Sheik as a toddler, making sand castles and then destroying them with plastic figurines in the shape of dragons. 

But things like that couldn't really tell her what she had been like as a kid. Honestly, Zelda didn't really want to know. It would only make her feel worse about how she'd changed, when really nothing was her fault. Then again, those feelings didn't really care about the facts. She knew that. Really, no feelings cared about facts. They just happened, and then it was up to the person to decide what to do with them. You could let your feelings overwhelm you, or you could fight them for every inch you gave. 

Zelda liked to think that she was emotionally strong, but moments like right now, when the numb feeling overrode anything else and she just felt like sleeping until the end of time... these moments were what proved her wrong. She wasn't emotionally strong, really. She was just another stupid teenage girl, trying to figure out what the hell she was doing with her life.

Because what _was_ she doing with her life? So far, she'd done nothing but worry about other people. Now that the people that she had previously been worrying about to avoid her own head were mostly doing alright, she had no way to run from this anymore. Hence why she was lying on her bed instead of going out and exploring the city. It was pathetic, and yet here she was. 

Oh, and she kept getting weird letters. She hadn't opened any of them, and they were sitting in the bottom of a drawer. The stack kept growing, and it was concerning. Sooner or later the curiosity was going to get to her, and then what? Would she discover death threats or something?

Gods, she really should get out and do something to clear her head. Link had mentioned Shulk taking the boys to a club shortly after they'd arrived here. Maybe she should go, just to see what it was like? Also, she could really use a distraction. She was sick of thinking. Unfortunatly, she really didn't want to go talk to someone she knew already. It would just remind her of everything that she was stressing out about- namely her confusing feelings for Link, because somehow everything reminded her of him. 

With an aggravated sigh, Zelda stood up. She was wearing her pajamas, and had been all day. Luckily it was a day off, so she hadn't scandalized anybody by showing up to practice in what was basically just her underwear. But if she was going to go out, then she really ought to get changed. Otherwise something unfortunate might happen, and, well... she didn't really want to go down the same route her brother had. 

Zelda poked through her wardrobe for a little while, eventually settling on a plain blue t-shirt and black leggings. Nothing too fancy. All she was looking for was a drink to help her stop thinking. She wasn't planning on getting totally wasted tonight, because that wasn't going to help her at all. Just a drink or two, and then she'd go back to her apartment. Yes, that was a good plan. 

So Zelda exited her apartment and embarked on her grand adventure. She found the club that Link had described and was admitted without a second glance, which was a bit worrying. She clearly wasn't old enough to be let in, but the bouncer didn't even think twice before waving her in. The strangeness of this was quickly pushed out of her mind when she saw the interior of the club.

Whoa. This place was crazy. There were a lot of people on the dance floor, despite the time. It was fairly early in the evening, and yet the dance floor was packed. But she wasn't here to dance, so Zelda headed for the bar. She scanned the menu, then settled on something that sounded less likely to kill her than half of what was listed. 

Time passed pretty quickly after she'd finished her first glass. She almost ordered another one, but she could feel herself getting a little loopy already. After a moment, she muttered "fuck it" under her breath and actually did order another one. She wanted to forget for a little while, didn't she? If she stopped at one, she'd likely still be conscious enough to think and then bring herself down. 

"Hey there, gorgeous. Got some romantic troubles?" a woman's voice asked, slightly startling Zelda. She looked to her right side, where a really pretty lady was smiling at her. 

"How'd- uh, how'd you know?" Zelda stumbled over her words a bit. The alcohol must be messing with her head more than she thought, wow. 

"You look upset. Also, you're drinking like you have something you want to forget." the woman responded smoothly. "What's your name?"

"I'm Zelda." she responded. "And you are...?"

"Dorothea Arnault." the woman winked at her. Wow, her eyes were really green. 

Zelda blinked and checked her watch. Oh, it was later than she thought it was. Yikes. Uh, she really should get home. But then again, it would be rude to just walk out on the pretty lady who was talking to her. Dorothea seemed to pick up on Zelda's sudden hesitation, and she asked "Do you need to get home?"

"Yeah, I should. Didn't realize how late it was, hah. I can just walk home." Zelda replied, slurring her words ever so slightly. 

"How far away is your place?" Dorothea asked kindly. 

"Not far. Like, fifteen minutes? Maybe?" Zelda went to go take another drink, but Dorothea took the cup out of her hands. 

"You look a bit unsteady on your feet, Zelda." Dorothea pointed out. "Would you like to go to my place instead? It's much closer, and I wouldn't want something unfortunate to happen to you on your walk home. It'd be a shame if something happened to that pretty face of yours."

Oh, Dorothea was flirting with her. That gave her an unfamiliar embarrassed feeling- it was different from the way she felt when Link smiled at her, so what was it? Zelda didn't know, and she didn't exactly have enough mental awareness at the moment to puzzle out what the feeling was. She had to respond to her offer, though. So what did she say to an offer like that? Did she accept or politely decline? 

Well, she didn't really want to disappoint the pretty girl, sooooo... why not take her up on her offer? Dorothea did have a point. The streets were a dangerous place to be at night, and her condition as a drunk, apparently attractive teenage girl made the danger twice as great. "That would be great, thank you." 

"Of course, Zelda." Dorothea grinned and placed some money down on the top of the bar, presumably to pay for Zelda's drinks. 

"You didn't have to do that." Zelda protested. "I can pay for myself."

Dorothea shrugged. "You can pay me back later, if it makes you feel better." 

"Okay. I can do that." Zelda laughed. Man, she felt weird. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all? Her head felt... fuzzy, if that's the right word for it? No, that didn't quite describe it. She felt giddy, but her other emotions were hard to process. Which was exactly what she had been after, but it was still a little bit alarming. Well, it would have been alarming if she was more present mentally to feel alarmed. This girl cannot hold her alcohol well, apparently. "Should we get going, then?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea." Dorothea held out her arm for Zelda to hold, should she need it. Turns out, she definitely did need it. Her legs were just not functioning as well as they seemingly should. 

Walking to Dorothea's apartment didn't take long, but it was long enough for Zelda's head to start spinning. That was probably not promising for tomorrow morning, but oh well. 

Once they reached Dorothea's apartment, the green-eyed girl helped Zelda sit down on the couch. She went and grabbed a glass of water for Zelda, which made her realize how thirsty she was. With a warning from Dorothea not to drink it all in one go, Zelda accepted the glass of water and took little sips at it, trying to rehydrate herself. 

"So. Would you like to talk about what's bothering you? It might help." Dorothea sat down next to her on the couch and smiled reassuringly at her. 

Zelda nodded slightly. "Sure, why not?" she responded. Then, she took a deep breath and started talking. "Basically, there's this guy I'm friends with. His name is Link. He's pretty hot. But recently, our friendship has been kinda weird because I'm pretty sure I have romantic feelings for him, and our conversations just hasn't been as... natural as they were before. So I'm confused about the way I feel about him. And then there's the fact that I've realized that I can't stop running from myself by worrying about other people, because the people I had been worrying about don't need me to worry about them anymore. Well, at least not as much. Does that make sense? I don't know."

Dorothea nodded cautiously. "So it sounds like you need to figure out your feelings for this Link guy. Has he expressed interest in you beyond being your friend?"

"Not really. I swear he's not interested in me like that, because he just doesn't seem inclined towards romance at all." Zelda sighed. 

"That's quite the predicament. I'd say you should have an honest conversation with him. Tell him how you feel, because the worst that could happen is he doesn't reciprocate your feelings." Dorothea advised. 

"Yeah, but I don't even know how I feel. It's confusing." Zelda sighed and leaned back. "But enough about that. I didn't get myself drunk to think about my romantic troubles."

"Fair enough. What would you like to talk about instead?" Dorothea asked, leaning back and looking at her. 

From there, Zelda didn't really remember much. She recalled talking to Dorothea and getting to know her better, and from there the conversation slowly went into more flirtatious territory. Which is why what happened the next morning shouldn't have been such a shock to her, really. 

././.

Zelda woke up in Dorothea's bed, completely naked and with one hell of a headache. Dorothea herself was nowhere to be seen, which was weird. 

"What the...?" Zelda croaked, sitting up and trying to make sense of her surroundings. Her head was throbbing. Gingerly, she put a hand to her forehead and winced. 

There was a note lying on the pillow beside her, so she picked it up and skimmed through it. 

Oh boy. So she'd gotten herself totally wasted last night, and had ended up sleeping with Dorothea, who she'd only just met. What the hell was that supposed to mean? 

With some difficultly, Zelda redressed herself and exited the apartment. She really had to talk to someone about this, because now what was she supposed to do with this information? She'd fucked a girl. What did that mean? Was she not straight after all? That was kind of scary to think about. She'd never really given much thought to her sexuality before.

The only person she was comfortable discussing something like this with would have to be her brother. It was anybody's guess where he was right now, since he hadn't technically moved in with Corrin yet. Usually he was either at his apartment, Corrin's apartment, or the library. He spent an awful lot of time at the library, come to think of it. But it was early in the morning, so barring a late night of studying... whatever he studied while he was there, Sheik would likely be at his apartment or Corrin's. After a moment of deliberation, Zelda decided to check his apartment first. It was technically closer, which was nice. 

Man, her head ached. It ached with every single step she took, but somehow she managed to make it to his apartment without passing out or anything. She knocked on the door, praying that she hadn't guessed wrong. 

Shockingly, her brother opened the door, looking a little sleepy. His eyes widened when he saw Zelda, then he opened his mouth to say something. After a moment, he shook his head and closed his mouth. 

"Good morning?" Zelda said, though it sounded a lot like a question instead of a statement like she had intended. 

"I- Zelda, it's six in the morning." Sheik replied, sounding tired. "I'm guessing you need something?"

"You were awake already. Don't bother trying to hide it." Zelda pointed out. "Anyways, yeah. I need to talk to you."

Sheik sighed. "Yeah, I was. You'd better come in, then. I'll make tea or something. I don't mean to be rude, but you look like death."

Zelda laughed. "I'm not surprised. My head hurts like a bitch."

"Wow. What'd you do?" Sheik asked, laughing as he helped her inside. "Go sit down. You look like you'll pass out otherwise. Don't argue with me, just do it."

So Zelda didn't bother arguing with him like she had planned to. He was right, she was feeling kind of dizzy. She waited for him to be finished in the kitchen, as he'd said he was making tea and she wanted to be polite. Once he was finished, he brought out two cups of tea. 

"Alright, start talking. What do you need my help with?" Sheik said as he sat down across from her. 

"Well... I got drunk last night and I _accidentally_ went to a nice lady's house, and apparently I ended up having sex with her." Zelda laughed in an attempt to downplay the situation. 

Sheik actually choked on his tea, coughing and spluttering for a good minute or two. When he finally managed to breathe again, he took a deep breath and said "I'm sorry, you did what?"

Zelda looked at him incredulously. "Were you not listening to what I said?"

"I was, but-" Sheik stopped and put a hand to his forehead. "Gods. It's way too early in the morning to be thinking too hard about this. Okay, so obviously you have some conflicting feelings about the whole affair?"

"Yeah. I mean, what the hell do I do with this information?" Zelda leaned back and closed her eyes. Her head was throbbing, and her emotions were all messed up. This was definitely not what she'd had in mind when she originally went to the club. 

"The first question you need to ask yourself is this: could you see yourself doing it again, when you're sober?" Sheik said. He made the question sound so simple, but it really wasn't.

"I don't know, I can't even really remember-" And of course, right as Zelda spoke, a memory of Dorothea's lips on hers rose to the front of her brain. Her face turned bright red, and she very nearly just stopped talking altogether. But she pressed on, determined to figure this out. "Maybe that's a lie, but still. I'm not sure if I would do it again, if I was given the chance."

"That's progress. Do you remember enough to determine if you enjoyed it?" Sheik was clearly trying not to unsettle her or anything, but his gaze was intense. She kind of felt like she was being interrogated or something. 

"No...?" Zelda replied. 

"Is that a no, you don't remember, or no, you didn't enjoy it?" Sheik asked. 

"Both? I mean, I don't really remember it, but from what I do remember, I don't think it was something that I would want to do again." Zelda took a deep breath. Look at that, progress! This actually made a little bit more sense now. 

Sheik nodded slowly. "Okay. So what's your main question here?"

"I guess I want to know if this means that I'm not straight." Zelda said, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. 

"Makes sense. So, let's use your feelings for Link as a baseline." Sheik started speaking, but he stopped when he saw the look on Zelda's face. "Zelda, I can read you like a book when I put my mind to it. I'm surprised you haven't admitted to being in love with him yet, really."

"Sheik! What the hell?" Zelda yelped. "Since when were you so..."

"Blunt? It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sheik laughed. "I haven't taken my meds yet this morning. That might have something to do with it. Anyways, that's not the point. The easiest way for me to phrase this isn't exactly very nice, but here goes. Could you picture yourself in a long-term romantic relationship with Link or this lady you slept with?"

Zelda had to think about that one for a second. Immediately, she could see herself with Link, but as for Dorothea... not so much. "With Link, it's easy. With Dorothea... not so much."

"Alright. Have you ever felt more than a passing attraction to another girl?" Sheik looked like he should be taking notes or something, like a therapist. Not that Zelda knew what a therapist was, of course. 

"No." Zelda answered. "I really can't say that I have."

"Lastly, you are aware of the fact that alcohol tends to expose your real feelings, rather than making you do something you would never do, correct?" Sheik asked. 

Oh. Well, that's nice. That certainly throws a wrench in everything, now doesn't it? "I am now." Zelda responded, laughing once. Gods, how could she be so stupid?

Sheik seemed to notice her distress, and he awkwardly reached over and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry too much about that." A slightly odd silence fell over the two of them, and he leaned back in his chair with a soft sigh. "Alright, here's what I think. Judging by what you've told me, we can rule out the possibility of you being completely gay. However, maybe you're bisexual?" 

That didn't sound right. It just... didn't. But what did that mean? Ugh, this was confusing. "I don't know. Maybe?" Zelda sighed again. After a moment, she decided to just be up front with him and ask what she wanted to know. "If you don't mind me asking- you don't have to answer this, but... how did you figure it out? Like, how did you figure out that you're gay?"

"That's..." Sheik looked genuinely surprised by her question, but he didn't look upset or reluctant to answer. More like he was trying to figure out how to phrase it. "Well, uh, it was a bit of a process. I mean, kind of? It's hard to explain. I just... knew, I suppose. Though I did have a hard time putting a name on my feelings at first. And I certainly didn't have a neat label to put on my feelings. It took me a while to get it through my head. Because I knew I was feeling things for my best friend that weren't exactly what someone would expect. And before that, sometimes I'd look over at one of the other guys and think 'hey, he's kinda attractive.' That was scary, if I'm being honest. Because usually people don't think that way about their same-sex friends, right? Eventually, I did learn to embrace those feelings, but I didn't exactly broadcast them. Now, I could care less about what people think. I am who I am, regardless of who I'm attracted to. Who you want to date should not define you, Zelda. There is no shame in experimenting." 

That was... actually really helpful. Wow. And more information than he'd ever given her about his own feelings at one time. Plus some advice! 

And then he kind of ruined it by adding "Even if your method of experimenting was a bit questionable, that is." 

"That makes sense, actually. Thank you." Zelda said. "But was that comment there at the end really necessary?"

"Of course." Sheik was actually smiling at her. It had been so long since he'd done that. 

"I forgot how infuriating you are when you're joking around with me." Zelda huffed, though she wasn't mad. Quite the opposite, actually. The barely suppressed grin on her face proved that. 

"You missed it. Don't lie to yourself." Sheik said. He took another drink of his tea, which Zelda totally hadn't forgotten was there. She picked up her own cup and took a tiny sip, not wanting to move too much for fear of upsetting her head. 

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Zelda replied smoothly. "If you want to try and get some more sleep, I can go. You've helped me a lot."

For a second, a flicker of well disguised... was that loneliness or pain she saw in his eyes? Either way, it was a bit concerning. But the moment passed, and Zelda dismissed it. He was probably just tired, that was all. "I don't mind either way. You don't have to go, but I'm not going to force you to stay." Sheik said, after a slight pause. 

So Zelda stood, ignoring how her head spun when she did so. How she was going to get back to her apartment in this condition, she had no idea. 

"Seriously, Sheik. You're the best. Thank you so much." Zelda said, grabbing his hand for emphasis. 

"I try." Sheik grinned at her, the ghost of his old confidence returning for just a moment. Suddenly, Zelda realized she was looking at who he could have been, if he hadn't been brutally tortured. The realization stunned her, and she just kinda stared at him for a moment. "Is something wrong?" he asked, the moment of confidence disappearing and being replaced with concern. 

"I- no, it's fine. Sorry." Zelda slightly shook her head to clear it, then turned to leave. 

It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. The Headmaster had ruined everybody's lives, and she knew that none of them would ever be completely over what they had endured. Her brother was supposed to be charismatic, confident, and sarcastic. Not anxious, easily upset, and traumatized. 

And yet he was. The sheer weight of it all was almost unbearable. Zelda herself had suffered, though she didn't dare say it was anywhere near what Sheik had gone through. 

The anger that even thinking about what they had all endured brought up was enough to make Zelda want to do something reckless. Nothing harmful to herself, unless you counted wanting to march right up to wherever the Headmaster was hiding and either murder them or slap them senseless. She wasn't really sure which one would be more satisfying. 

As she walked back to her apartment, her anger slowly subsided. It was replaced by worry- she had a lot of things to think about, and she'd like to get her head sorted out before she could even think about going to confront Link about her feelings. 

Honestly, she kind of wanted to have a word with whoever had come up with the genius idea of letting human beings have feelings. Mostly because it turned out that feelings sucked.


	32. TO KEEP YOU SAFE.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Minor mentions of blood and racist remarks.

_"Don't forget. This is your fault." The Headmaster whispered._

_They raised their arm and brought the whip down on Corrin's back again, drawing an agonized cry of pain from the silver-haired boy. He was limp against the post, only held up by the chains around his wrist. His hair was damp with sweat, and the ugly lash marks on his back were bloody._

_Again, the Headmaster raised their arm and brought the whip down._

_Corrin was limp against the chains that held him up now. The Headmaster scoffed and tossed the whip aside. Sheik couldn't tell if Corrin was still breathing or not as the masked figure unchained him._

_"Go on, then." The Headmaster laughed._

_Sheik didn't need to be told twice. He moved forward and sat next to Corrin's limp body. Up close, the lash marks looked even worse. Slowly, Sheik adjusted him so that he wasn't facing the floor. His eyes opened, and he looked up at Sheik._

_"Don't... listen to them. This isn't... your fault." Corrin whispered, reaching up to brush Sheik's bangs out of his face._

_"I'm sorry." Sheik mumbled. He held Corrin's hand against his face and tried not to cry. He knew what would happen next, judging by the way his back looked._

_"You... have... nothing to apologize for." Corrin murmured. Then the light faded from his eyes and his body went limp. He died just like that. Because of the Headmaster. Because of him._

_"This is your fault. He wouldn't have died if it wasn't for you." The Headmaster said. They grabbed the back of Sheik's shirt and pulled him up, forcing him to look in their eyes. "You'd be next, if I didn't know better. You'd be glad to die. I won't give you the satisfaction."_

And then Sheik woke up. 

He blinked once or twice, trying to get his bearings. This one had been so much more vivid, just like they all had been for the last few weeks. He could basically feel the blood on his hands, or see the way Corrin's eyes looked as he stared up at the ceiling without seeing. 

There were tears on his face. He hadn't even realized that he was crying. Angrily, he wiped them away. Gods. He couldn't even face these nightmares by himself. 

Sheik was so fucking tired of being this weak. It had been more than a year since it had happened, and yet he was still waking up with nightmares every night. Just when he thought he'd finally be rid of them, they were back. And with a vengeance, too. 

His hands were shaking, so he balled them into fists to hide it. 

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." Sheik mumbled. 

The panic wasn't anything new, but each time he woke up from one of these nightmares, the force of it caught him off guard. He knew it wasn't real, but his brain didn't seem to want to cooperate with him. 

Despite the fact that he'd spent a year waking up like this, he wasn't sure what the best way to deal with it was. So instead of letting himself feel the emotions, he just buried or fought them as hard as he could. Which probably wasn't a healthy coping mechanism, but he didn't know any other way.

Pathetic. That's what he was. Couldn't even face his own emotions. He had to learn how to stand on his own. 

Why did Corrin love him? He was a fucking mess. He didn't deserve someone so kind, so patient, so... perfect, really. Sheik knew that was unrealistic to think- surely nobody could be completely perfect? But in his eyes, Corrin was. 

He wasn't here now, so he couldn't help him. Sheik had to get through this on his own. And he would, because he had done it before. It was just a lot harder when he could practically feel everything from the nightmare. Thankfully, he hadn't had one about that just yet. Sheik wasn't sure how he'd recover from being able to feel those hands on him again. 

Even now, just thinking about it, he still felt a chill travel down his spine. But before he could go too far down the path of his thoughts, he forced himself to get back on track. If he even really had a track to return to. 

Just to give himself something to do, Sheik looked over at the clock on the table next to his bed. It was three in the morning, and he had training today. Fantastic. Skipping was out of the question, because it would only make him feel worse. But he likely wasn't getting back to sleep, because the nightmares would only get more vivid. Or he'd just stay awake, unable to fall asleep. 

Sheik knew that he needed to talk to somebody about this. The nightmares were getting so bad that it was almost overwhelming. Corrin was probably the only person he trusted enough to talk about them, though. Zelda was dealing with her own problems- which, granted, were mostly of her own making, but still- and he didn't want to bother her with his own issues. Especially when he was supposed to be getting better. For a while, he thought he had. And then this happened. 

The fact that he had been somewhat okay for a little while only made this more frustrating. He hated giving a voice to his feelings because it made him look weak or sound whiny. That was the last thing that Sheik wanted. He knew he had to swallow his own pride and just talk, but the possibility of appearing weak or troubling others with trivial things like this was just... undesirable at best, humiliating at worst. He didn't want to bother Corrin, even though he knew that his boyfriend would try his hardest to help. 

"Get yourself together." Sheik whispered harshly. He didn't expect that to do anything, but at least he tried. 

Suddenly, he realized something. If the nightmares were getting this bad again, then the Headmaster had to know where he was. Their Gift had something to do with mental manipulation- that was the only thing Sheik had managed to figure out about what the masked person's Gift actually was. If the Headmaster knew where he was, then they could probably use that information to target his friends. 

With this realization, all his other emotions faded away. A terrible sense of dread settled over him, pressing on his shoulders like a physical weight. 

If there was one thing he was absolutely certain of, it was that he couldn't let the Headmaster hurt his friends anymore. Sheik could care less about himself. If they wanted a victim, they would get a victim. And it wouldn't be one of his friends. No way in hell would he let that happen. 

An idea that he'd been playing around with was running away. Just leaving all of this behind and trying to find somewhere else to go. Get away from all the memories and all the pain. He had mostly dismissed it, since he couldn't bear to think about leaving Corrin. But if the Headmaster could find him, then he was a danger to his friends. If he was a danger, he had to leave. Simple as that. 

Sheik took a deep breath. He knew he had to leave. But at the same time, despite knowing how selfish it was, he didn't want to leave Corrin. 

Gods damn it. As soon as he started to think that maybe he'd get the chance to move on from what had happened to him, fate laughed at him. Before he could go too far down that line of thought, he cursed and refocused on the decision facing him. 

Did he run away for the sake of his friends, or did he stay and potentially endanger them all? 

Despite his own selfish feelings, he knew what he had to do. Really, he had no decision to make. Clearly he had to do what was best for everybody else, not just himself. 

So he would run. But first, he would have to make sure that someone knew what he'd done. Sheik didn't want to just leave a note, because he was sick of leaving a note to explain himself. No, this time he was going to tell someone that he was running. This early in the morning, he only knew one person who'd be awake. And he didn't even know them that well yet. But it would have to do. 

Now that he had a course of action, Sheik was finally able to get a grip on himself. He got out of bed and pulled on some clothes, not really caring what he wore as long as it didn't make him stick out too much. Quietly, he slipped out of his apartment and headed in the direction of the cafe where Urbosa worked. She worked the early morning shift, so she'd still be there. If he was lucky, of course. 

Thankfully, Urbosa was still there when he arrived. There were several people in the cafe itself, which wasn't all that surprising considering that it mostly catered to homeless teenagers with nowhere else to go. The Gerudo he was looking for was speaking with a terrified looking boy who couldn't be older than fourteen. He waited until the conversation was done to approach her, which led to several curious stares from the various kids in the cafe. 

"Hey Urbosa. Can I talk to you?" Sheik asked, hating how awkward he sounded. 

Urbosa turned around, drawing herself up to her full height. Which meant that she was considerably taller than he was. "Of course you can." She led him over to a table in the corner and told him to sit. "What's bothering you?" 

"I'm going to run away." Sheik whispered. 

"Are you?" Urbosa asked, raising an eyebrow. "How unexpected. Though, maybe not. The shadows under your eyes show that."

"The nightmares are back, and they're worse than before. I think that the Headmaster knows where I am, and if that's the case, I have to run. I won't endanger my friends any further." Sheik said. 

Silence fell over the duo. Sheik played with the cuff of his sleeve, more out of anxiety than boredom. 

"If they come here, looking for you, I will say that you ran. I won't say where you went." Urbosa finally said. 

"Thank you, Urbosa. I won't tell you where I'm going, to give you no reason to lie." Sheik whispered, gratitude lacing his voice. 

"Of course, songbird." Urbosa smiled at him and stood up. "You should get going, if you want to be out of this district by the time they start missing you."

Sheik had been about to reply when he heard the nickname. _Songbird._ His sister was nicknamed "little bird," but he hadn't expected to gain one of his own. It was an unexpectedly touching gesture, and Urbosa clearly noticed his reaction. She winked at him and said "Courtesy of Riju. She was quite taken with your performance the other night."

"Thank her for me, will you?" Sheik asked, once he'd found his voice again. 

Urbosa nodded in response. She made a shooing gesture with her hand, well aware of his habits by now. If he didn't leave now, he likely wouldn't be able to, despite how strong his resolve might have been before he actually spoke about his plan. 

So he left. He wasn't really sure where he was going to go, but he walked down the street away from the direction he'd usually take to get back to his apartment. Sheik figured that he could hide out in an abandoned warehouse in the East Side and wait for the Headmaster to find him, or he starved to death. Either one worked, really. 

While he walked, he got a few strange glances. He ignored them all and kept walking, but it didn't stop him from thinking. Was he being too obvious? Would he get turned in? 

Can't even run away right. Gods. He really was pathetic, wasn't he? 

As he turned the corner that would lead him to the East Side, he heard footsteps behind him. Instead of turning around immediately, he remembered the training he'd been getting from Kaze. Don't turn around right away and alert your pursuer that you know about them. Just keep walking, acting like nothing is wrong. Subtly, Sheik gathered some of the nearby shadows in his palm, shaping it into a crude dagger. 

"What's a kid like you doing wandering the streets at a time like this?" 

"Why don't you tell me?" Sheik replied smoothly. He sounded a lot more confident than he felt- that voice sounded so familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out why. 

"Clever." His pursuer chuckled. When they spoke again, their voice was closer to him and slightly off to the left. "Are you running from something?" 

"Isn't everyone running from something?" Sheik asked, before whirling around and dropping into a half crouch, the shadow dagger held in a reverse grip. 

From here, the figure who was trailing him appeared to be a man of average height. He wasn't wearing a disguise of any sort on his face, but a black cloak obscured the rest of his body. As he watched, the man drew a dagger of his own. 

"Pretty words. Can that dagger of yours match the speed of your wit?" 

"Find out for yourself." Sheik whispered. He ran forward, intending to strike at the man's ribs. He changed the direction of the swipe at the last second, tilting the blade up and to the side. His pursuer blocked it, but Sheik made the blade nothing more than shadow as the two daggers struck each other. 

...Which earned him a cut on the arm, as he wasn't fast enough to draw it back. Sheik barely felt the cut, though he knew he would feel it later. His pursuer scoffed softly and kicked out at his knees. Sheik barely dodged the kick, making the mistake of looking down. He paid for the mistake by feeling the man's fist collide with his jaw, which hurt a bit more than the cut on his arm did. 

Instead of letting the pain incapacitate him, Sheik grabbed the man's arm as he drew it back and yanked him forward. As he did so, he positioned the shadow dagger so it would end up in the man's gut. His pursuer didn't realize the move until it was too late- the dagger found its mark, drawing a grunt of pain from the mysterious man. He staggered back, his hand pressed to his abdomen, where the hilt of the shadow dagger was buried. Blood slipped from between his fingers, splattering the street. 

"Impressive. Certainly more than I was expecting from a... Sheikah brat like you." The man chuckled and jerked the shadow dagger out of his gut. As soon as it hit the ground, it disappeared in a faint puff of purple smoke. "Been a while since one manifested the shadow Gift in such a powerful way."

"Who are you?" Sheik asked, trying to control the anger that the 'Sheikah brat' comment had sparked. 

"Someone who wants to see you and your fellow scum wiped off the face of this planet. Of course, the government pays well to do it. Thought you'd be an easy target. Guess I was wrong." As he spoke, the man pulled up his sleeve, revealing a symbol that had sadly become a familiar sight to Sheik, despite the fact that he hadn't been in the city for more than half a year. It was the Sheikah eye, cut by two diagonal lines and captioned with the phrase "Death to the blood-eyes."

The sight of it made him sick. "People like you deserve a death more painful than I'm willing to give." Sheik snapped. "How many of my people have you murdered?"

"More than you'll ever know, Sheikah. It's unfortunate that you won't be joining them today." The man replied as he staggered away.

Sheik honestly could care less if that man lived or died. It wasn't a very in-character thought for him, since usually he did care about the lives of others. But people like that man... he had no tolerance for them. 

As Sheik began walking once more, the feeling of blood trickling down his arm brought his attention back to the cut he'd received. Like he had predicted, the cut only started to sting now that he was paying attention to it. His jaw ached dully with every step he took, and he was generally not having a very good time. After checking the buildings around him, his injured arm held close to his side and bleeding all over his shirt, Sheik decided it would be for the best if he found somewhere to hide now. Luckily, there was a spot behind some dumpsters- while it wasn't an ideal location, it was better than nothing. He stumbled over and sat down, finding that he was mostly hidden from the casual onlookers on the street. 

Only now did he let himself look at the cut he'd gotten. Carefully, he released his grip on his arm and rolled up his sleeve. 

The cut that confronted him looked a lot worse than it really was. Blood slowly trickled down his arm, and the jagged edges of the cut flesh stung the longer he looked at it. Sheik took a deep breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall. It wasn't that he was startled by the sight of blood. Far from it, actually. But he knew that the most important thing to do when trying to treat a wound was stay calm, and continuing to stare at the injury wasn't going to do him any favors in that regard. 

Since he didn't have easy access to running water, he'd have to skip cleaning the wound. That was just asking for an infection, but it would have to do. In order to bandage the cut, he'd have to wreck his shirt. Not that he cared all that much. It would be an inconvenience later, when night fell, but stopping the bleeding was his first priority. 

At least he'd grabbed a long-sleeved shirt. Carefully, he summoned another shadowy dagger and cut the bloody sleeve off the rest of the shirt. Once he'd done that, he set the dagger to the side and focused on wrapping the makeshift bandage around his arm. The cloth coming into contact with the cut made him hiss softly in pain, but otherwise he didn't really feel anything. The shirt that he'd originally chosen when he left his apartment was black, so he wouldn't tell if it was completely soaked through. That might be a problem for later, but for now he should just keep moving. 

He had to find somewhere that was a bit safer to stay. Otherwise he wouldn't survive the night. 

Which, admittedly, didn't sound that bad. Even if he hadn't wanted to die for his own selfish reasons, the fact that the Headmaster couldn't use him to find his friends was a pretty compelling argument. 

Sheik scowled and shook his head. Enough with the thoughts about death. He was supposed to be moving past the suicidal tendencies. 

The way the sky was starting to lighten proved that he'd been out here for longer than he thought. Regular people were starting to populate the streets, which was a sign that he really needed to hide. Otherwise he might get turned in, and then this whole adventure would have been for nothing. 

After about six more minutes of walking, Sheik spotted an abandoned warehouse. It was easy enough to find, due to the rusty paint that looked suspiciously like dried blood that formed an X on the door. That wasn't a promising sign, but it would have to do. Thankfully, nothing too bad seemed to be in the interior. It was empty, aside from the scattered tables and ominous pools of dried blood. 

It was a good thing he didn't have the ability to talk to ghosts. The paranormal presence in the room was enough to agitate even his shadow abilities, which meant that there were a lot of unhappy souls trapped here.

How lovely.


	33. RELAX.

"Sometime during the night, Sheik ran away." Chrom said, looking exhausted. "The only reason why I've got all of you here is to explain how we're going to find him, and why this is so concerning."

Lucina winced and looked over at Corrin. The poor guy looked stressed out, but he was clearly trying to hide it. She made a mental note to talk to him once Chrom had finished the briefing of sorts. 

"With all due respect, don't you think that goes without saying?" Marth asked. 

Chrom sighed. "I honestly don't have the patience to deal with sarcasm right now. I assume you all are aware of the presence of military members in the city?" 

"Besides our own, yes." Marth replied. It was good to see him stepping back into the role of leader, but... honestly, Lucina kind of resented him for it. It had taken so long for him to get to this point, and now it just felt anti-climatic. 

"If Sheik gets caught by one of those military members, he will be dragged back to stand before the Headmaster. He will likely be executed for some fabricated charge of treason, because you all became failed experiments as soon as you left the Compound." Chrom explained, zero emotion in his voice whatsoever. 

"Executed?" Zelda asked incredulously. "Surely the Headmaster- the government- can't do that?"

"Executed." Chrom confirmed. "The government doesn't work like it should. It's deeply corrupt and controlled by the Headmaster's organization. Innocent people die because of the corruption of the people who are supposed to protect us."

"So we're at war with them." Robin said. His gaze was unfocused as he stared at the wall just above Chrom's head, which was a sign that he was deep in thought. 

"Yes. Those with power are afraid to lose it, so their resistance is much stiffer than we anticipated. But I digress. Samus, you and Link will be searching for him. Before you leave, I'd like to have some words with you in private. The rest of you are excused from training for today, but you certainly can do some solo practice." Chrom nodded his head in response to Robin, then turned his attention to Samus and Link. Something that she had initially found surprising was that neither Caeda or Shulk had been present at this particular briefing. Now that she'd heard the news, she understood why they were absent.

Marth was the first to leave, and he was followed closely by Robin and Ike. The trio struck up a conversation as they left, but Lucina was too far away to hear what they said. Zelda said something to Corrin, then walked out of the briefing room. 

Since now was as good a time as any, Lucina walked over to him and smiled reassuringly. "Would you like to go spar with me? I think it might help distract you a bit."

"That would be great. Thank you." Corrin half smiled at her and turned to leave. She followed him out, taking one last glance back at her father, who was deep in conversation with Link and Samus. He was pointing at an area on the map of Ebonfell that was laid across the table, seemingly frustrated with something that Link had said. 

She sighed and closed the door behind her as she left. 

While they walked through the streets of the city, weaving through the crowd on the sidewalks, Lucina tried to start a conversation three times. Each time, Corrin gave a maddeningly short response. His eyes were scanning the crowd like he thought Sheik would be one of the many strangers they both saw. After the third attempt, Lucina gave up and resorted to walking along in silence. It made the walk both awkward and feel longer than it should have. Eventually, they reached the loft apartment where their lessons were normally held. 

He seemed agitated while they grabbed wooden practice swords and slipped on some light protective gear, just in case. But he didn't say anything, which was somehow more worrying than if he had actually spoken up. 

Lucina held the wooden practice sword out in front of her and assumed her ready stance. Corrin did the same, and there was a brief pause. They locked eyes, and the bout began. 

Corrin struck first, attacking with a sweeping overhead swipe that was basically telegraphed. She sidestepped it easily and tried a strike at his ribs, but he blocked it. Their blades locked together, Corrin braced himself and shoved her back. Lucina stumbled, but recovered quickly. She lost a few precious seconds when she looked down to be sure of her footing, and sure enough Corrin tried to take advantage of her distraction. She didn't even have to use her Gift to know what was coming next- a direct chop downwards, meant to hit her neck. Thinking quickly, Lucina switched her grip and blocked the chop. She then kicked out at his knee, allowing her to slip out from under his blade and return to a neutral stance. 

In a real duel, she knew that returning to neutral was the worst possible option. You were supposed to press your attack as soon as possible, because the best defense was a good offense. Or something like that. Lucina didn't really pay attention to the finer points of battle, because she preferred to let her blade do the talking. You could learn a lot about a person from the way that they fought, after all. 

And right now, she could tell that Corrin was upset. Not just from the subtle hints in his expression, but from the way he was fighting. His strikes were sloppy, and she was able to parry them with ease. She hadn't even used her Gift once this bout. 

Lucina lunged forward, stepping under his swipe and leveling her sword at his chest. She poked him just above where his heart was, making sure not to use too much force. 

"I win." Lucina said, backing off and resting the sword at her side. 

Corrin closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "It's usually a bit closer than that. I'm off my game today."

"It's okay, Corrin. You're upset, and you have the right to be upset." Lucina said, concern lacing her voice before she could think better of it. She knew Corrin didn't like to be pitied, and he could easily interpret her words as pitying. 

"I should have done something. I could have stopped him." Corrin's free hand tightened into a fist at his side. 

So he was blaming himself. Lucina knew how that felt, but no one knew that feeling better than Marth. Before thinking about her irritatingly self-deprecating brother could drag down her mood, she dismissed the matter entirely and took a step forward. 

"It's not your fault, Corrin." Lucina said. 

"But what if it is?" Corrin shouted. "There had to be something I could have done!" He threw the wooden sword down in disgust and ran a hand through his hair. The worry in his eyes was painful to see, in all honesty. It was rare to see him so upset. He had a lot of patience and he was remarkably composed in most situations. 

Lucina was half considering using her Gift to see if Sheik was... well, alive or captured. Or worse. But the fact that she could alter his future if she dared to look kept her from actually doing anything. 

Or maybe she was just afraid of what she might see if she did. Honestly, Lucina was terrified of the power she wielded with her Gift. She had the power to try and stop people from dying, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it. 

Seeing the future was both a blessing and a curse, when it came down to it. 

"Blaming yourself isn't the right way to go about this. I know you're worried. We all are. But I really don't think there was anything you could have done." Lucina whispered. 

"I just- I don't know. It feels like I failed him. I feel like I failed him. I'm supposed to be there for him, and clearly something happened that would have made him want to run away." Corrin mumbled. 

"It's going to be alright. I think we'd know if he had been captured by now." Lucina rested her hand on his shoulder, offering her support. 

"Gods, he's an idiot." Corrin laughed once. It almost sounded like a sob, really. 

Lucina didn't say anything in response. She waited for him to keep speaking, because she could tell he needed to just talk without interruptions. 

"He's always been there. For as long as I can remember, it's always been the two of us. I didn't realize how scared I am of losing him until now. Honestly, I feel really fucking pathetic for even having these emotions. I just- ugh." Corrin exhaled harshly and let his hands fall to his sides. 

After a long moment of silence, Lucina took a deep breath and said "Being scared is human. I don't know what I'd do if Marth or Robin disappeared like this."

Corrin didn't reply immediately. Clearly he hadn't been expecting to hear what she'd just said. "What am I supposed to do if he doesn't come back?"

"Hopefully, you won't have to find out." Lucina responded. "Sheik is smart. I don't think he'd go down without a fight, if it came to that. Besides, I'm sure he'll be back. Link and Samus will find him."

"That's another thing that's frustrating me." Corrin said, his frown deepening. "I should be out there looking for him. I don't see why Chrom picked Samus, of all people. Link I can understand, but Samus?" 

"My father is... many things, but he is a practical man first and foremost. He probably knew that your judgement would be clouded by emotions, so he picked the two people out of our group who are best suited for a task that requires quick, clear thinking." Lucina's eyes widened as she realized that probably wasn't what Corrin wanted to hear. Thinking quickly, she hurried to apologize for her harsh assumption. "I'm sorry, that ended up sounding a lot more rude than I thought."

"No, it's fine. You have a point." Corrin said. His shoulders slumped a little, though it was hard to tell if he was relieved or unhappy. "Sitting here and doing nothing useful just feels like a waste. I half want to go out and look for him on my own, but I know that I'm doing the best I can by staying. I'd probably fuck things up, and then I'd never be able to forgive myself."

"This will work out, Corrin. It's highly unlikely that the worst will come to pass." Lucina smiled reassuringly at him and took her hand off his shoulder. 

Hesitantly, the corner of Corrin's mouth twitched upwards in a half smile. It was the closest she figured that he would get to smiling right now, so it was a victory in her book. "Thanks, Lucina."

For a moment, a spike of fear gripped her as the thought that he would ask her to use her Gift passed through her head. That was one thing she wouldn't do. 

Thankfully, the moment passed and Lucina was able to breathe a silent sigh of relief. "Of course. I'm always happy to listen if you have something you need to talk about."

"I appreciate it." Corrin responded. He paused for a moment before leaning down to pick up his discarded practice sword. "Since we're here, might as well keep sparring. It helps me think, in an odd way."

Lucina nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. Sparring helps clear my head. Sometimes I even end a session and realize that I've figured out what's bothering me."

So they assumed their ready stances again. Corrin still looked tense, but he didn't seem nearly as wound up as he had before. Which was definitely a good thing, because the more relaxed he was, the more of a fight he'd put up. Lucina preferred a challenge when she fought, and an angry opponent wasn't much of one. 

Again, Corrin moved first. He tried a backhanded slice that was impressively controlled and executed, and Lucina very nearly didn't block it in time. Thankfully, she was able to bring her blade up right before the wooden sword hit her upper arm. She shoved him back to give herself some breathing room, then went for a straightforward jab. Corrin knocked it aside and immediately tried another backhanded slice. 

Lucina saw it coming this time and sidestepped, nearly losing her balance because of the momentum from her missed jab. She spotted an opening in his guard and struck, hitting his side and drawing a grunt of pain out of him. He kicked at her knee, a dirty move but a clever one. She faltered in her step as her knee gave out, and Corrin went for a risky overhead strike. It was risky because of how open it would leave him if he missed, and it was likely to do that- it was practically telegraphed. Lucina rolled to the side, hearing Corrin's blade strike the floor with a dull thunk. 

This placed her in a bit of a precarious situation. He had already recovered from missing the strike, so most of Lucina's usual options were covered. All she could do was get off the floor and block the next strike. As she was getting up, Corrin tried to strike at her blind side. She was barely able to block it in time, and then it hit her- she'd used her Gift without even intending to do so. Her eye was aching, and Corrin looked shocked. Lucina would have apologized, if it wasn't for the fact that they were in the middle of a duel. This was significantly more difficult than their earlier match, and she was grateful for it. If he had pushed her to the point of using her Gift involuntarily, he was a challenging opponent.

When he was thinking clearly, of course. Intending to use his moment of surprise to her advantage, she tried a diagonal cut downward. Corrin blocked it, like she had expected. Instead of shoving her backwards, he stepped in closer. Caught off guard, Lucina didn't think to try and escape the lock their swords were now in. She felt something pressing into her stomach, so she looked down to find Corrin with a wooden dagger in his left hand. 

"I win." Corrin said, backing off and resting both hands at his sides. 

"When did you get the dagger?" Lucina asked, completely confused. She hadn't noticed it until it was far too late, which perplexed her. 

"At the beginning. I've always had it." Corrin replied, having the grace to look a little embarrassed. "It's a trick Sheik taught me."

"I should have known." Lucina sighed and shook her head. "It seemed a little too underhanded to be one of your own strategies."

"Are you implying that I'm predictable?" Corrin asked, laughing slightly. 

"Of course not. I'm just saying that you're not exactly fond of sneaking around." Lucina rubbed the spot where the wooden dagger had jabbed her and winced slightly. "I'm lucky you weren't actively trying to kill me."

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you? I wasn't trying to." Corrin's expression changed from amused to worried, and he placed the wooden dagger back in the little loop it had previously been hanging in. Not that Lucina had noticed that, of course. She felt a bit silly for not realizing it was there sooner, but there was nothing she could do about it now. 

"Nah, it's alright." Lucina laughed and shook her head. "It just surprised me, that's all." Which was a lie, because she could feel a bruise forming already. But Corrin didn't need to know that.

Corrin didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't comment on it further. "Want to go again?"

"Sure." Lucina said. She wasn't tired yet- she could probably keep going for a while longer yet. 

So they assumed their ready stances again. Before they began, Lucina glanced over at the clock. A surprisingly long amount of time had passed since they'd first arrived. That was both good and bad. For a moment, the slightest shadow of worry passed through her head. What if something had actually gone wrong? 

But no. Allowing herself to think like that wouldn't end well. So Lucina shook her head once to clear it and refocused on her bout that was about to start.


	34. FOUND.

"Urbosa, do you know where Sheik went?" Link asked. Samus was standing beside him, looking over the interior of the coffee shop. She seemed to be a little on edge, but Link dismissed the thought. He had several more important things to worry about. Not that Samus's feelings weren't important, he just didn't want to deal with whatever was setting her on edge at the moment. 

Urbosa sighed and set down the glass that she was cleaning. "I do not. He did come to me this morning, but he didn't tell me any details beyond the fact that he was running from something."

Link tried not to let his disappointment show. Their only lead turned out to be a dead end. Of course. "I see. Thank you anyway."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you any more." Urbosa said. "Good luck with your search. I'd prefer it if you found him, rather than those... fools who run this city."

"He certainly isn't making it easy for us." Samus commented dryly. 

"If he doesn't want to be found, he likely will not be." Urbosa pointed out. "Sheik is rather thorough about these things. Most Sheikah are. This will not be an easy search."

Before Samus could reply, Link intervened. "Right, well, we're going to try our best. Before we go, do you have any ideas on where he might have gone?"

"Not exactly." Urbosa replied. The cryptic responses she had been giving were starting to get on Link's nerves, so he took a deep breath to steady his emotions before even trying to continue. 

"Anything that you're confident in sharing?" Link asked. 

Urbosa was quiet for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face. "After leaving the cafe, he headed in the direction of the East Side."

Finally, an answer. "Great. Again, thank you. Every little bit of information helps." Link replied, trying not to let his mild irritation show. He'd been so certain that Urbosa would be more helpful, and yet she turned out to know just a bit more than the two of them did.

"Safe travels." Urbosa nodded her head and returned her attention to the glass she'd set down. 

Thankfully, Samus waited until they had walked out of the cafe to voice her frustrations. She kicked at the sidewalk and sighed angrily. "Gods fucking damn it." 

"Samus, please. It's not that bad." Link replied, wincing as he heard her foot collide with the pavement. "Just because Urbosa didn't have as much information as Chrom thought she would doesn't mean that the world is going to end."

"Not that bad?" Samus asked incredulously. "This was supposed to be an easy assignment. Just a simple search and rescue mission, you know? But it turns out that the guy we're tracking didn't actually leave a trail behind. So we have zero clue where he is right now. Our only lead was a dead end. But yeah, I can totally see how this isn't a big deal at all."

Link stopped walking and looked over at her. "You knew this wasn't going to be easy. When has anything related to Sheik ever been easy? He's literally the most complicated guy I've ever met. If you've got such a problem with it, why are you even here?"

"I'm just doing my job." Samus replied coldly. 

"Your job?" Link asked. "This is just a job to you?"

"He's my friend, trust me, but at a certain point..." Samus raised her arms helplessly and scowled. "Isn't this going a bit too far?"

"Sheik never does anything this drastic without a reason." Link snapped. "Are you aware of the fact that he nearly tried to kill himself? Clearly something drove him to the point of feeling like he needed to get away. So no, I don't think this is 'going a bit too far.' And I doubt I'll change my mind. Why don't you wait until we find him to make assumptions?" 

Samus didn't respond. Instead, she shoved past him, heading in the direction of the East Side. After a moment, Link scoffed and followed her. "That's what I thought." He murmured. 

The walk that followed was very quiet. Samus didn't bother apologizing, and Link felt no need to apologize to her either. She was clearly in the wrong here, so why should he start to repair the rift between them? 

But eventually he had to break the silence, if only to point out the man leaning against a wall in a dark alley. He was slumped over, pressing a hand to his abdomen and a grimace on his face. Link had nearly missed him, actually. Which was probably the point, but that didn't really matter. 

"Samus. Look." Link nudged her and subtly indicated the injured man in the alley. 

The blonde looked in the direction he had indicated and frowned. "Suspicious."

"I know. Should we go see if he's alive?" Link asked. 

"Yeah." Samus nodded and looked both ways before crossing the street. Once she was satisfied that she wouldn't get hit by a car as she crossed, she ran across. Link followed shortly afterwards.

Both blondes knelt down next to the injured man. Link noticed the amount of blood staining the man's shirt, since the black cloak that he wore had long since been discarded. How the man was still alive, Link didn't know. Especially because the wound didn't look recent. Come to think of it, the wound didn't even look natural. 

"Magic." Samus muttered. "This man got stabbed by a magical dagger."

The man's eyes fluttered open, and he coughed dryly. "Did you figure that all out on your own?" 

"What happened to you?" Link asked, cut Samus off before she could even begin to respond.

"I was trying to clean the streets up, as usual. I saw this Sheikah brat walking along, looking suspicious. So I followed him for a little while. He caught on, challenged me, and we fought. I was getting the upper hand, and then the little bastard stabbed me." The man coughed again and winced, pressing his hand to the stab wound a little harder, as if that would stop the bleeding.

Samus and Link glanced over at each other. He nodded slightly. Clearly the Sheikah that had stabbed this man was the one they were looking for. At the mention of what the man had been doing, anger rose to the surface of Link's mind. He knew exactly what the man meant by "clean up the streets," and it disgusted him. "That's unfortunate. Do you know where he went?"

"He kept moving down the street. Though the bastard couldn't have gotten far- I cut his arm. It would've kept him from leaving the area, at least." The man smirked as he spoke, obviously taking some sort of sick pleasure in knowing that he'd wounded Sheik. 

Casually, Link unsheathed the knife he carried at his side. He let the midday sun reflect off the blade, watching the man's face for his reaction as he did so. "You've been very helpful, sir. Although I think I speak for both me and my companion when I say that you've outstayed your welcome."

Fear shone in the man's eyes. He flinched away from the blade as much as he could, because his position against the wall didn't allow for much movement. "What are you...?"

"Like you said. The streets of this city are in need of a good cleansing. Especially of scum like you. Don't worry, this won't hurt. Much." Link said, smiling innocently at him and pressing the blade to the man's throat. The intensity of the anger burning in the pit of his stomach honestly startled him, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. This man had insulted his friend. Had injured his friend. 

He wouldn't let him get off that easily. While he hated how cold he sounded, he told himself that it was fine because this bastard clearly deserved the harsh words. 

Just like he told himself the man deserved it as Link slashed the blade of the knife across his throat. 

Before the man could realize what had happened, Link cleaned the blood off of the blade of the knife using the man's discarded black cloak and stood. "Come on, Samus. He's finished." 

Samus rose to her feet and scoffed. "I'll say. Was that really necessary?" 

"Probably not, but it did feel damn good. Bastards like him don't deserve to live." Link replied, nearly having to force the words out. Gods, he was pissed. Half of him felt sick over how easily he'd killed the man, but the other half of him dismissed it. Did it really matter if the people who had been killed deserved it?

Wisely, Samus chose not to respond. If she had, well... Link didn't really want to think about what could have happened next. In his angry state, who knew what he could do? The mere fact that he could hurt one of his friends like this was terrifying. 

So Link took a deep breath and started walking again. They were close to finding Sheik, according to what the man who was now bleeding out behind them had said. All they could do now was keep moving. Otherwise, they'd never find him. 

"If you were Sheik, and you were on the run, where would you go? Adding in the factor of being injured- potentially seriously- where's the most likely place he would be?" Link asked, studying the streets as they walked along. 

Samus laughed, though it didn't sound like she was very happy. "You're actually asking me to try and get inside his head?"

"It's an actual tactic, Samus." Link replied, irritation creeping into his tone. 

"There are plenty of places I'd rather be, but okay." Samus took a deep breath and studied the buildings around them. There was an abnormal amount of warehouses in this section of the city, which was odd at first glance. However, taking into account that the East Side was where many merchants did their business, it wasn't all that unusual. "Okay. So, if I was injured, I'd want to pick a place near where the fight happened. Probably one of the abandoned warehouses mixed in with the functioning ones."

Link had reached the same conclusion, so it was a relief to hear that his companion was thinking along the same lines that he was. "Now we've got to find said abandoned warehouse. Chances are that this is going to be pretty difficult-" Samus nudged his shoulder and pointed to an intimidatingly dilapidated building across the street. Link sighed, since she had kind of cut him off. However, the building she was pointing to... that was a good place to start, really. So he couldn't be too upset. 

So they crossed the street again. They spread out to search the warehouse, finding nothing but dust and piles of old sheet metal. This had likely been used as a storage facility for a construction company, though the old materials lying around were a bit odd. Surely the company that used to use this warehouse would have wanted to take everything with them when they moved sites? In any case, there was clearly nobody else here. 

"That was a bit of a disappointment." Samus commented as they walked down the street, keeping a close eye out for other potential targets. Targets might be the wrong word to use in this situation- it's not like they were assassins or something. 

Even if the way Link had killed that man in the alley seemed to prove that wrong.

"Yeah, but it's not a big deal, really." Link replied. 

"True." Samus responded after a short delay. "Should've known better than to get my hopes up over the first one that we searched. Especially after the way the rest of this mission has gone so far."

The blonde-haired duo continued to walk, keeping mostly quiet. They searched three other abandoned (or seemingly abandoned, as was the case for the second building of this group. A small settlement of homeless people had taken over the building, and had nearly chased Samus and Link down the street until they were satisfied with their distance from the settlement.) and found absolutely nothing.

Now, though... as they stood outside the fifth overall warehouse that they were going to check, some sixth sense that Link had learned to trust over the years told him that something was wrong with this building. It didn't help that the sun was beginning to set. Searching the various abandoned warehouses in this section of the city was more time-consuming than it sounded, apparently. 

"Something's wrong here." Link muttered, more to himself than anything. Samus glanced over at him, clearly confused. He shook his head and gripped the hilt of the Master Sword, which was strapped to his back. So far he hadn't needed to use it, but the overall wrong feeling that this place was giving off made him glad that the sword was apparently really good at killing evil beings. 

Cautiously, Samus pushed open the door of the warehouse. As she did so, Link noticed how the rusty red paint looked an awful lot like dried blood. The ominous feeling only intensified, and he had to bite back the swell of fear that came with it. He was supposed to be a bit braver than this, so why did he want to run at the first sense of powerful magic gone wrong?

"Anybody in there?" Samus asked, her hand hovering near the pistol she wore on her right hip. 

There was a soft cough off to Link's right, and he whirled around, drawing the Master Sword and pointing it in the direction of the noise. When he didn't see anybody right away, he was half convinced that he'd imagined the cough.

Then Sheik stepped out of the shadows, his hands held up like he was being arrested. "Link, would you please put your sword away?"

With an exasperated sigh, Link lowered his sword. "Gods damn it, Sheik. You startled me."

"Sorry?" Sheik replied. "Kind of surprising, honestly. You're hard to startle."

"This building is putting me on edge. Have you really been hanging out here for hours?" Link responded. There was a little bit more anger than was probably necessary in his voice, showing just how on edge he was. 

"Not by choice." Sheik said. "I'm assuming that you two are under orders to bring me back to the Rebellion?" As he spoke, Link noticed how tired he looked. His shirt was torn, as he'd obviously had to use a sleeve as a makeshift bandage for what was presumably a cut on his arm. There was a hollow look in his eyes, which was something that Link hadn't seen in Sheik for a few months now. 

Samus nodded. "If you don't mind, some cooperation would be greatly appreciated. It was pretty fucking difficult to track you down." 

"That was kind of the point, Samus." An odd smile tugged at the corner of Sheik's mouth as he spoke. "I originally ran away because... well, it's not important now. Some time alone with my thoughts has made me realize how much of a damn fool I am."

"Right. Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this mission done. Running all over this city since dawn hasn't put me in the greatest mood." Samus said flatly. 

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, Sam. Also, it's really not that bad." Link tried to hold back the irritation that Samus's words brought up. She'd been getting on his nerves all day, and he was going to be so glad when this was all over. 

"Sorry." Sheik ducked his head in embarrassment- or maybe that was shame, Link couldn't quite tell which one it was. 

Without further ado, Samus led the two boys out of the creepy warehouse. Secretly, Link was extremely glad that they were leaving it behind so quickly. Something about that place... he wasn't well-versed in magic by any means, but even he could sense that lots of people had died there. 

He was so distracted by the lingering aura of the warehouse that he didn't notice how Sheik was so tired he could hardly walk until he nearly tripped over his own feet. 

"You okay?" Link asked, putting a hand on Sheik's shoulder to steady him. 

"Fine. I'm fine." Sheik mumbled. His words were slightly slurred, betraying just how not-fine he was. "I'll be okay." 

"How much sleep did you get over the past few days?" Samus asked without bothering to turn her head. She must noticed his condition earlier, and Link felt a bit stupid for taking so long to notice. 

"Not enough." Sheik laughed humorlessly. "But it doesn't matter. I'll be fine."

"As soon as we get back, you're going straight to the medical wing. Not just for that cut, but to get you some sleep." Samus said. Her tone left no room for argument, so Sheik just sighed and nodded his head in acceptance. 

Sheik managed to stay on his feet for the rest of the walk back to the Rebellion's headquarters. Like Samus had said, she immediately sent him to the medical wing with Ashe's supervision. The green-eyed boy started talking about something completely random in an effort to get the Sheikah to stay awake. Surprisingly, Sheik didn't seemed annoyed by this in any way. He almost seemed glad to talk to Ashe, which was actually pretty cute. The enigma and the most sincere boy he'd ever met might not be a friendship he'd expect to see, but it was refreshing in its own way. 

"Let's go update Chrom." Samus said with an exhausted sigh. "I swear, I've never been more tired in my life."

"Yeah. The sooner we're done here, the sooner I can sleep." Link closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall for a moment.

Samus raised an eyebrow and laughed slightly. "You too?"

"There's only so much running all over the city that a guy can take, Samus." Link replied, opening his eyes with a sigh and starting to move down the hallway. His movements were a bit slow, betraying how exhausted he was.

Chrom was in the middle of a conversation- well, it sounded more like an argument- with Zelda, which was pretty unexpected. She wasn't very argumentative in general, but it made more sense once Link heard what the argument was about. 

"Look, Chrom, it's been long enough! All I'm saying is that maybe you should send another search party out." Zelda exclaimed. 

"And I'm saying that you should have more faith in Link and Samus." Chrom replied. He caught Link's eye as he spoke, looking both relieved and confused once he realized that Sheik wasn't with the two of them. "Speaking of which. Link, Samus. Did you find him?"

"Yes." Samus responded. Link was more than happy to let her take the lead on this debriefing, because this really wasn't his kind of thing. He preferred to be taking orders rather than giving them. "He's fine. I sent him to the infirmary because of a cut on his arm, as well as the fact that he looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion. Though I doubt he'd be getting any sleep on his own."

"Alright. At least he's _physically_ intact." Chrom mumbled the last part under his breath, but Link heard it all the same. Zelda looked like she was about to respond with some stupid comment, so he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"If that's all you needed, I'd better make sure Zelda doesn't get herself into trouble." Link said, smiling innocently and hoping that Zelda didn't say anything. 

Zelda glared at Link, but she didn't say anything. Thankfully. 

"Yes, you're all free to go." Chrom turned back to the table he always seemed to be staring at before he'd even finished speaking. Samus left faster than Link thought was possible, and he very nearly followed suit- if it wasn't for Zelda. He waited for her to decide that it wasn't worth getting into a fight with the guy who had more authority than anybody really knew, and then walked out alongside her. 

Needless to say, Zelda was pissed off. 

"I can't fucking believe him!" Zelda shouted as soon as they were a short distance away from the Rebellion's headquarters. "I'm just- ugh. I waited for an hour to talk to him, and then he just doesn't take my opinion into consideration? Not to mention how I'd REALLY like to yell at my dumbass brother. But I'll let Corrin do that. Gods. I can't fucking believe this."

"Well. Uh. I'm sure it's not that bad?" Link winced as he spoke. Wow, nice going Romeo. You'll really win her over at this rate.

Zelda sighed, though she sounded slightly less irritated than she had before. "It probably isn't a big deal. I mean, I've dealt with worse."

Awkward silence followed her words. Link had been finding it harder and harder to hold a proper conversation with her ever since they'd arrived in the city. He wasn't quite sure what that was all about. Especially because he was also starting to notice just how attractive she really was. 

"Do you mind if I hang out at your apartment for a little while? I don't feel like walking all the way back to mine right now." Link asked, hating how awkward his voice sounded to his own ears. 

"Sure. It's, uh, no big deal." Zelda replied. She sounded a bit startled by the question, leading to Link cursing himself in his head. Idiot. 

"I mean, if you don't want me there, I can just go to my apartment." Link added, trying not to stumble over his words.

In the silence that followed, Link very nearly convinced himself that he was being stupid and Zelda was barely putting up with his shit. However, just as he was about to add on to his statement, Zelda spoke up. "It's fine, Link. I've been meaning to talk to you for a few days, anyway."

"Oh. Okay." Link tried to force a smile, which didn't turn out that great. Normally, he wouldn't have to try so hard to smile around her, but her last sentence... it was frightening, to say the least. But he was supposed to be tougher than this, so he'd never admit that he was scared of what Zelda was going to say to him. 

They continued walking along the street, a slightly awkward silence hanging in the air between them. Link tried to use the various buildings on the street to get his mind off of thinking about what was likely going to happen once they reached Zelda's apartment and had some time alone to just talk. Come to think of it, that was something that they hadn't really had in quite some time, which was probably due to the newfound distance between the two of them. That distance was actually kind of upsetting to Link, because he genuinely did like talking to Zelda. Not to mention how sometimes just being around her could brighten his day up considerably. 

Thankfully, he managed to keep his worries under control. Sometimes, despite his best efforts, he had a tendency to get overwhelmed with petty worrying. But Link was determined to keep up a brave face, no matter what, so he forced those thoughts back and focused on the moment. 

Which happened to be rather distracting by itself. Zelda opened the door to her apartment and gestured for him to go inside first. He had been in her apartment several times already, but the first thing that always surprised him was how clean it was. Zelda wasn't exactly a messy person to begin with, but the level of cleanliness never failed to be a bit of a shock. 

Now that they were actually here, Link wasn't sure who was going to start the conversation. They ended up facing each other and just kind of staring into each other's eyes for a good thirty seconds. Eventually, Zelda cleared her throat and looked down. Link could have sworn he saw a bit of a blush on her face, and his heart felt like it was trying to do a tap dance routine at the sight. 

"So." Zelda began.

"So?" 

"I'm assuming Sheik told you about what happened last weekend?" Zelda asked. 

Oh, right. That. 

"Yeah, he told me about it." Link replied cautiously. He still remembered the weird feeling that hearing what she'd (or, more accurately, who she'd done) had given him. It was an odd combination of disappointment and jealousy, and it honestly kind of scared him. Since then, he'd looked farther into why he reacted to the news in that way, and... the answer had been startling, to say the least. 

"Good. I wasn't looking forward to explaining that to you." Zelda sighed in relief and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she locked eyes with Link and kept speaking. "But I suppose I should say that I'm sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize, Zelda. We're not dating or anything." Link replied, faintly confused. Why would she feel the need to apologize for hooking up with someone else? Unless she actually reciprocated the feelings that he himself had only recently dared to acknowledge. 

Link didn't want to get his hopes up, though. 

"Actually, yes. I do need to apologize." Zelda shifted her weight uneasily and took a deep breath. "I'm not too great at this kind of thing. But I shouldn't have done that." 

"Well, uh, you still don't need to apologize to me. We're just friends." Link insisted, even though the words almost felt... sharp in his mouth, like the lie on his part was physically painful. 

Again, Zelda hesitated before speaking. "That's part of the reason why I've been meaning to talk to you."

His heartbeat sped up considerably. Though he was trying his hardest not to let his hopes get up too high, he still found himself stepping closer to her and tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. "Oh?"

"About us being just friends."

The waiting was legitimately going to kill him. To keep himself from smiling like an idiot, because he was fairly certain he knew where this was going to go, Link bit his lip and maintained eye contact with her. 

"Please just spit it out already." Link said, repressing a sigh. 

"Right." Zelda cleared her throat. The slight blush had returned to her face, and it was more evident now. Honestly, it was kind of attractive. By now, Link's heart was racing, but he tried to ignore it. "I'm in love with you."

He had been hoping to hear those words. He had even thought about what his reaction would be to those words. Several times, actually. But nothing could compare to actually hearing them. 

For so long, Link had been convinced that he couldn't allow himself to fall in love. That it was a weakness, and the result of the years of torture he'd lived through had proven that weakness was unacceptable. Just look at what love had done to Marth. It had wrecked the poor guy. And then, against every single instinct he had, Link had fallen in love. 

"I'm in love with you too, Zelda."


	35. DIDN'T MEAN IT.

Robin was tired. His head ached. And to top it all off, he was studying for a test he wasn't entirely certain he _should_ be studying for. Not that he didn't enjoy studying. Actually, it was one of his favorite things to do. Well, normally he enjoyed it. But not today. It was frustrating him, so he closed the book and looked up with an aggravated sigh. 

"Everything okay, Robin?" Lucina asked, looking up from the book she had been reading. 

"Yeah. I'm fine." Robin put a hand to his forehead and tried his hardest not to start scowling. Gods, his head ached. He cast a cautious glance over to his bag, since the whispering from the tome seemed to be exceptionally loud right now. As he'd learned from previous experience, nobody could hear it but him. 

But the whispers were really, really loud. Robin closed his eyes and tried to block them out, because he wasn't in the mood to deal with what the tome was trying to get him to do. 

"Are you sure? You seem kind of... off." 

"Yes. I'm fine. Trust me." Robin replied, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. 

Lucina was quiet for a moment. But, unfortunately, she kept pressing the issue. Rationally, he knew that she was just worried about him. Half of him was actually glad she cared about him enough to do this, because he was well aware of the way he'd manipulated her into being his girlfriend. While he may not have been entirely certain that it was him who had done the manipulating, the fact that he could slightly remember it spoke volumes about the matter. On the other hand, the rest of him was just annoyed with her. Why couldn't she just drop it? He'd given her an answer. Yes, that answer might have been a bit of a lie, but she needed to just believe him. This wasn't a big deal. 

"You've been more irritable than usual lately. And you forget stuff a lot. It's concerning, Robin."

"I said I'm fine, alright? Back off!" Robin snapped. 

"I'm worried about you. Seriously, you've been so dependent on that tome. I know it's not doing you any favors. Clearly something's wrong with it." Lucina said. She definitely looked and sounded worried, which only pissed Robin off more. 

"There's nothing wrong with it. And I'm not dependent on the damn thing. I almost wish I could throw it out the window and be done with it, but Chrom explicitly told me that I'd be thrown in jail if anything happened to it." Robin replied sharply. Still, despite himself, his eyes returned to his bag as he spoke. And the voices were still whispering to him. 

_She's upsetting you, Robin. You should make sure she doesn't do that again._

_Hurt her._

_Make her suffer, it'll be funny._

"Stop." Robin mumbled, gripping his hair and and bracing his elbows on the table. The ache in his head turned from mild discomfort to splitting pain, and he had to bite his lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain. 

"Robin? Is everything alright?" Lucina asked, standing up and moving over to crouch next to him. 

"Get away from me." An odd mix of fear, concern, and anger laced his voice and threatened to overwhelm him. He noticed that she was about to say something in response, so he stood up and walked a short distance away to clear his head and fight the voices that were growing in intensity alongside his anger. 

Lucina actually looked scared. The part of him that he had since identified as his real self was horrified by the sight, but the part that was controlled by the voices was _pleased._

"I fucking told you, I feel fine." 

"No. You're not." Lucina whispered. She walked forward and put her hands on Robin's shoulders. 

Angrily, Robin grabbed Lucina's forearms and removed her hands from his shoulders. "What the hell is wrong with you?" 

"Nothing, Robin! You should be asking yourself that question, if I'm being honest." Lucina wasn't yelling at him, since she never yelled. However, her voice was raised quite noticeably, only fueling Robin's anger. She had started this fight, and now she had the audacity to basically yell at him? Absolutely fucking ridiculous. 

Instead of responding, Robin let the anger wash over him and control his actions. He barely felt himself move forward and shove Lucina hard enough to make her lose her balance, and he hardly heard her cry of pain as her head collided with the corner of the coffee table. Hell, he half expected her to get up and start shouting at him. 

When she didn't, his anger started to subside. It was replaced by an intensifying of his headache, which was powerful enough to nearly knock him out. He hissed in pain and brought a hand to his head, completely disregarding the fact that he'd just shoved Lucina and she might be in serious trouble right now. He could barely even think straight as it was. 

Slowly, the headache began to subside, much to his relief. As his head cleared, he was confronted with an odd gap in his memory. These odd gaps had become commonplace recently, but that didn't mean they weren't troubling. First of all, when had he stood up? The last thing he remembered before the gap was sitting at his desk, reading a textbook. 

The sight of Lucina on the floor, unconscious and- _gods._ That was blood on the floor. Panicked, Robin knelt down next to her and picked her up, being careful not to jostle her head around much. To his horror, he discovered that the blood had come from a cut on her scalp. The cut must have come from the coffee table, seeing as there was a bit of blood on the edge of it. 

Bits and pieces of what had happened during his memory black out began to come back, just like always. He remembered getting angry at Lucina, arguing a bit with her, and then-

He had shoved her. 

"Oh gods." Robin mumbled. 

If there was one plus side to this whole situation, it was that the tome had gone suspiciously quiet. It almost reminded him of the scolded dog he'd seen on the side of the street one day when he was out for a walk. He'd been minding his own business when he happened to spot a man disciplining his dog. The poor thing had looked so guilty. Now, the tome's silence was reminiscent of the way that dog had looked. Which was never a good sign. He'd learned that when the tome was quiet, he'd done something terrible.

Which, obviously, he had. 

The first thing that he had to do was stop the bleeding. Then he would be able to move her while he tracked down a taxi, because this wasn't something that he could fix right here in his apartment. She would definitely need medical attention, and Robin was about the farthest thing from a doctor that he could imagine. He was fairly certain that doctors needed to remain calm in any situation, and he was kind of freaking out right now. So that kind of disqualified him from being a doctor, regardless of the years of study that it usually took to get one certified as a medical professional. 

Robin stood up and hurried to the bathroom, where he kept some basic medical supplies just in case. He grabbed a roll of bandages and returned to Lucina's side, where he began wrapping her head injury in preparation to apply pressure to it. Thanks to the basic first aid training that he'd received at Shulk's insistence, Robin knew that pressure and elevation would be key in stopping the bleeding before anything terrible could happen. 

Once he'd finished wrapping the injury, he grabbed a pillow off of the couch and put it under her head. Gently, he began applying pressure, being careful not to press too hard for fear of hurting her worse. Blood began to seep through the bandage, which was alarming. He didn't remove his hand, and soon enough the blood stopped altogether. 

"Okay Robin, you can do this. No big deal. Just gotta find a taxi now." Robin mumbled as he stood up. "Can't carry her across the city, that'd be freakin' weird. This might be a bit weird by itself, I have to carry her down to the street and then find a taxi... man, this gets more complicated by the second." He bent down and picked her up, grateful that she was so light. Otherwise he might not have been able to accomplish this, because his muscles were basically nonexistent. On the other hand, her weight was a bit concerning- surely she should be a little bit heavier? 

Whatever the case was, he was getting distracted. He needed to focus. If he couldn't focus, he very well might make a mistake that would lead to Lucina getting hurt worse, or... dying. 

The very thought of being the cause of her death made him feel sick. Hell, he felt sick enough from the knowledge that he'd hurt her, despite knowing that he would never do such a thing. 

What if he did more things that were out of character like this? What if he hurt the rest of his friends because the voices in his head got too overwhelming? 

Robin shuddered and awkwardly opened the door of his apartment. It took some maneuvering, but he managed to exit with Lucina in his arms and close the door behind him. 

Now came the extremely awkward part: he would have to walk down two flights of stairs while carrying Lucina and hope he didn't get any weird glances. After that, he would stand outside and try to flag a taxi down fairly quickly to minimize the looks he was going to get from people. 

No big deal, right?

Right. 

Despite his initial misgivings, it turned out that he hadn't really had anything to worry about. At least in getting down to the street. He got more than a few odd looks as he stood on the street and tried to flag a taxi down. It ended up taking around seven minutes to actually find one, and the whole time he felt horribly out of place.

"So, I'm assuming you need a ride to the hospital." the driver said as Robin placed Lucina down and then sat next to her. 

"Yeah." Robin replied. 

"Rough night or something?" 

"You could say that." 

The rest of the drive was fairly silent, because Robin was busy worrying about the repercussions that this would have. His friends would totally find out about this, and then Marth would get involved, and... that would not be pleasant. 

Oh gods. Marth. He was going to be pissed. Robin would probably be lucky to get away with his life at this point. 

When the taxi driver pulled up at the hospital, he was struck by a sudden doubt. How was he going to do this? Why hadn't he thought this far ahead? He was supposed to be smarter than this, damn it. 

"Do you mind waiting here for a moment while I go check things out?" Robin asked. 

"Yeah, no problem." the driver responded, though they kind of ruined the moment by adding "Though it really isn't a big deal, nothing is going to just jump out at you or anything."

Whatever. Robin dismissed their comment and headed inside, already feeling uncomfortable with the whole hospital atmosphere. It felt too sterile, much like the entirety of the Compound had been. To hide the way his hands were shaking, Robin stuffed them in his pockets as he walked up to the front desk. 

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked. She had blue hair and brown eyes, and she didn't seem all that social. Kind of odd, considering she's a receptionist at a hospital. 

"Uh, yeah. I'd like to check someone in to be seen by a doctor." Robin responded. 

"Are you checking yourself in? I don't see anybody else with you." the receptionist looked around briefly, then returned her attention to him. 

"It's not myself I'm checking in. My... uh, my friend hit her head and has been unconscious for a little while. I'll go get her." 

"That would be helpful, yes." 

So Robin walked as fast as he dared out of the hospital and over to where the taxi was waiting. He picked Lucina up again and retraced his steps back to the reception desk, where the blue haired receptionist seemed to be rather surprised by the fact that he'd carried her all the way back. She began typing at her computer, then directed him to the emergency wing. A nurse who happened to be walking by spotted him and offered to help him out, which Robin greatly appreciated. 

Along the way to the emergency wing, the nurse asked him several questions that he only half answered. Partly because he couldn't remember exactly what had happened, and partly because he wanted to keep the amount of people who knew exactly what had happened to a minimum. 

"Alright, here we are. Does she have any family who need to be notified?" the nurse asked, opening a door marked with the number 21-E. 

"Yes. Her parents and twin brother should both be notified as soon as possible. I can give contact information for her brother, but not her parents. Also, if possible, I'd like her best friend to be notified. I can give contact information for her as well." Robin replied, anxiously running a hand through his hair. 

"Perfect. Just give me the information for who you'd like to be contacted and you'll be good to go. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go notify a doctor. There's a pad of paper right there that you can use to write down contact information and such." With that, the nurse left the room. 

The first thing he noticed about the plastic chair as he sat down was how uncomfortable it was. Almost immediately, he stood up again, deciding it would be better to stand than to sit in that stupidly uncomfortable chair. He wrote down Marth and Zelda's names, followed by their individual contact information. Since he didn't know how to contact Chrom directly, he couldn't write anything down. Likewise, he'd never actually met Lucina's mother, so he added a note to Marth's information requesting that he be told to inform his parents of what had happened. 

Now all Robin could do was sit back and wait for everything to go to hell, really.


	36. DIVIDED.

To put things simply, Ike was worried about Robin. He had spent the entire week that Lucina was in the hospital either buried in a book or anxiously pacing around Ike's apartment. Samus had actually gotten fed up with Robin's anxious energy and had kindly asked him to leave. Well, kindly was probably an exaggeration. She had basically kicked him out, but Ike had attempted to defuse the situation by explaining that this was one of Robin's normal coping mechanisms. It hadn't quite saved the poor guy from getting kicked out, though. Afterwards, Ike had spoken to him, and he seemed fine. 

But he wouldn't be surprised in the least if that turned out to be a lie. It wasn't just Robin who said that they were fine when they obviously weren't- many of his friends did the same thing. It was a concerning habit, really. 

Today was the day that Lucina was being released from the hospital, which was a very good thing. If only because it would help alleviate some of Robin's anxieties. Ike knew it wouldn't fix everything, because Marth had been suspiciously quiet. Since there was obviously more to the story than what Robin had told him, today certainly promised to be... interesting. 

Ike was currently sitting on a bench in the park where Marth had instructed everybody to meet up. Samus's head rested on his shoulder, which was a rare display of affection on her part. Especially since they were in a fairly public place. The rest of his friends were close by, though he noticed that Corrin seemed to be missing. Odd, considering Sheik was here and they had been here for a little while already. They were currently talking with Link and Zelda, plus Ike was rather comfortable on the bench, so he decided it wasn't really worth getting up to get an answer. 

In true Robin fashon, he was sitting in the grass with his nose buried in a book. However, upon closer examination, he wasn't actually turning the pages at all. He was just staring fixedly at one point on the page, indicating that he was too nervous to do anything at all. Ike sighed, unsure of what exactly he could do to help his friend. 

"Everything okay?" Samus asked, keeping her voice quiet to avoid any unwanted attention. 

"Yes. I'm just worried about Robin." Ike replied. He looked down at her and smiled softly, though it felt a little forced. He must be more worried than he thought. 

"He'll be okay. Look, there's Marth, Caeda, and Lucina now." Samus sat up properly and watched the blue haired trio approach. 

As they got closer, an uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Robin closed his book and stood up, appearing to be the very picture of calm. But his stillness was unnatural, aside from the way his hands shook ever so slightly. 

On the bright side, Lucina was walking on her own, and she looked just as cheerful as ever. She was talking with Caeda, but even they fell silent as Marth walked up to Robin and just looked at him. 

"How many things have you been hiding over the past two months, Robin?" Marth finally asked, his voice carefully controlled to express no emotion whatsoever. Honestly, it was more unsettling than if he had just started yelling right off the bat. 

"It depends on what you're referring to, I suppose." Robin responded, shifting nervously while he spoke. 

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean."

Robin had the grace to hesitate for a moment and look embarrassed. "I'm- I'm sorry, Marth. I just don't quite understand why you're this upset about my relationship with Lucina? She's not a child, she can make her own decisions."

"You don't understand?" Marth laughed sharply. "Understand the palm of my hand, bitch."

Then he slapped him. 

Ike stood up and very nearly walked over to where Marth was standing, prepared to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing. Samus stood up as well and grabbed his shoulder, shaking her head to indicate that he shouldn't get involved. He scowled and backed down, though he stayed on his feet just in case. A quick glance around at everybody else showed that they were just as shocked as he was. 

"Marth, please. Isn't that excessive?" Lucina asked. 

"No, actually. It really isn't." Marth snapped. "Now stay out of this, alright?"

"This involves me, whether you like it or not. I'm not a child, Marth. I'm eighteen years old. I can make my own decisions." 

"She's right." Caeda added. 

Another awkward silence fell over the group. "Robin, why don't you explain yourself? I'd like everybody else to know exactly what happened." Marth finally said, disgust basically dripping off of his words. 

While Marth spoke, Ike frowned in confusion. As far as he knew, Marth hadn't been told what had actually happened to Lucina. Robin had told him that he had given Marth an excuse that was an altered version of what really happened. All of this was starting to make his head hurt- how many lies had Robin told?

Robin looked away, unwilling or unable to respond for a moment. When he finally did meet Marth's gaze again, uncertainty and something that almost looked like confidence visibly fought in his eyes. "Lucina and I got into an argument of sorts. I was not feeling well and the situation escalated a bit too far. I can't remember exactly what happened, but one moment we were arguing and the next moment she was on the ground."

"Are you really going to claim that you don't remember shoving her?" 

"Please, Marth. I actually don't remember doing it. It was like someone else was controlling my actions." Robin responded, a pleading tone entering his voice. 

"I believe him." Ike said. He couldn't just sit by and watch this happen without doing something. He had to stand up for his best friend. 

"You're also biased. Are you forgetting that he's lied about multiple different things? Some of them quite crucial?" Marth said, turning his head to look at Ike. 

"He only had to lie about his relationship with Lucina because of you. This whole situation could have easily been avoided if you hadn't gotten in the way of their relationship. You can't control how other people feel. By trying, you're putting yourself in the same group as the Headmaster." Ike replied calmly. He sounded a hell of a lot more calm than he felt. 

Marth took a step toward Ike, and for a second he thought that the other blue haired boy would hit him as well. But then Caeda put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something, which appeared to actually calm him down considerably. 

"I agree with Ike." Lucina added. "This wasn't Robin's fault. There has to be some other explanation for why this happened. I know him, and he would never willingly hurt me. He's too kind for that."

"Lucina, I don't mean to insult you, but you're far too kind. Everything that we know seemingly contradicts what you're saying. In a situation like this, it's best to look at the objective facts-" Sheik began speaking, but Lucina cut them off with an unimpressed scoff. 

"You're telling me to look at the objective facts? That's... ironic, coming from you." Lucina remarked, an edge of sarcasm coloring her voice. 

"...You're right. Sorry." Sheik shook their head, seemingly directed at themselves for not really thinking things through very well. A bit of a smile touched their face for reasons Ike didn't quite understand. Then again, he really didn't understand them that well. It seemed like every time he had them figured out, they surprised him by doing something completely unexpected. 

"Despite the fact that they're giving rather hypocritical advice, I agree with Sheik." Link said. "The facts all point against what you're saying, Luci." 

"This is just one thing. You can't judge someone based on one thing that they did." Lucina protested. 

"She's right. This is a freak incident, I'm confident it won't happen again." Ike said flatly. It was a struggle to keep his frustration hidden enough to have a civilized conversation, honestly. 

Marth scoffed. "Actually, this isn't the first time Robin has lost his temper and then claimed to not remember anything afterwards."

"If that's the case, what are we supposed to do about it? This doesn't sound like something that the rest of us need to get involved in." Zelda pointed out. 

"I agree with Zelda. If this really isn't an isolated incident, then the problem here isn't something that the rest of us can fix." Link remarked. 

For another long moment, nobody dared to speak. Marth looked like he was about to say something else, but he hesitated as Caeda whispered something else in his ear. 

"The best thing that we can do now is just wait and see. There isn't a clear answer right now, but I'm confident that this will work out." Caeda said, seemingly taking over for Marth. 

"Usually, I'd be inclined to trust what the person in question has to say, but... well, you don't have the best track record with telling the truth, Robin." Samus cut in, casting an apologetic glance at Ike as she spoke. 

Robin looked miserable. He wouldn't meet anybody's eyes, and his hands played nervously at the strap of his bag. "You're right. You have a reason to distrust me."

"Gods damn it, Robin. You're REALLY not helping your case." Ike exclaimed, running a hand through his hair and exhaling sharply. 

"There's really not much I can do. I've said my part. I can't convince you guys if your minds are already made up. Which it kind of sounds like they are." Robin replied.

"Stop. Seriously." Lucina walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. She glanced back at Marth once and whispered something that Ike didn't quite hear, then looked back at Robin. "Don't give up just yet. Please. Not everything is hopeless just yet."

Before Robin could respond, Marth cleared his throat and said "I think this meeting has served its purpose. You're all free to leave if you want."

Lucina cast another glance at her twin, this time seeming more irritated than Ike had ever seen her. She didn't comment on his declaration further, even going as far as to lean in and kiss Robin right in front of Marth. 

Beside him, Samus laughed softly. "She's got guts. Good for her, honestly."

"I'm not hanging around here any longer. Are you ready to leave?" Ike asked, acknowledging her comment with a brief nod. 

"Yes. I've been ready to leave since Marth showed up, to be completely honest." 

"I totally understand that feeling." Ike looked over at the blue haired boy in question and resisted the urge to either punch him or just start yelling at him. Preferably the first one, because damn he was asking to be punched. 

Without any further conversation, the two of them started walking in the direction of the apartment that they were now sharing. Ike had moved in with Samus around two weeks ago, and so far it had been less stressful than living on his own. Go figure. 

No matter how long it had been since the group originally arrived in the city, Ike never got tired of looking around while he walked through the streets. Though the buildings didn't change much, the people did. So many people, all with different clothes and hair colors. It had been overwhelming at first, but now it was just fascinating to him. 

He watched as Samus unlocked the door of their apartment, feeling a smile tug at the corner of his mouth despite his foul mood from the confrontation earlier. She always managed to cheer him up when he was feeling upset. Ike followed her into the apartment and sat down on the couch with an exasperated sigh. Samus sat down next to him and just stayed quiet for a while, obviously thinking about something that required a lot of attention. He didn't blame her, seeing as he was still trying to process everything that had happened earlier. 

Eventually, Samus broke the silence that had settled over the two of them. Ike wasn't sure how long they'd both been lost in thought, but judging by the way the sun shined through the door to the small balcony, it was quite a bit later. 

"Is anything bothering you besides the Marth and Robin drama?" Samus asked. 

"Not exactly. But thank you for asking." Ike responded, idly running a hand through her hair and down her back. 

"Of course."

Ike paused for a moment before responding. "You know, it's moments like this that make me wish I could freeze time."

"You're so sappy when you want to be." Samus grumbled, turning away from him to hide how much she was blushing. 

"I'm serious!" Ike protested, feeling his own face start to heat up. 

"I know you are. That's why I love you. I know I can trust you to mean what you say. Of course, it helps that you're just a big teddy bear at heart." Samus followed her words by pressing a kiss to his cheek, then sitting back and looking directly at him. Her gaze was more than a little intimidating, if he was honest. 

"You're being quite romantic today." 

Samus shushed him with another kiss, this time on his lips. He kissed her back, nearly groaning as he felt her shift so that she was properly straddling him. From there, things only escalated. As she pulled off his shirt, he hesitated long enough to ask "Bedroom?"

Instead of verbally responding, she just smirked at him and pulled him off the couch. Which was more of an answer than any words could have ever given him, really. 

Once they were in the bedroom itself, Ike found himself lying flat on his back with Samus above him, as usual. 

"I love you, you know that?" Ike murmured, looking up at his girlfriend with a stupid smile on his face.

"Just shut up and let me fuck you, Ike." 

"Gladly."


	37. ALL WE'VE WORKED FOR.

"Good afternoon. Welcome to the induction ceremony for our latest members of the Rebellion." Chrom's voice rang out across the field just outside the city limits where the ceremony was being held. Though Zelda couldn't actually see him, considering that she was standing behind a curtain. "Today, as you are no doubt aware, we are inducting nine of the Lost Children into our ranks. While they may no longer be children or lost to us, the mere fact that we have found them is a testament to our strength. Recent events may have shaken the resolve you all possess, but with these new leaders and solders, I believe that we will see success once more." 

Beside her, Sheik grumbled something that she didn't entirely catch. Judging by their earlier comments, it was something about how much they hated the collar of their dress uniform. Zelda elbowed them without looking and whispered "Stop thinking about it and it won't bother you so much."

"It's fucking itchy." Sheik hissed back. 

Zelda glanced over at them and sighed. "You're being ridiculous. It's not that bad."

While the two of them argued, Chrom was still speaking. He was saying a lot of things that sounded important but probably weren't, so Zelda thought it was safe enough to mostly tune out what the leader of the Rebellion was saying. All she was really waiting for was this stupid ceremony to be done with so she could tease her sibling about their distaste for the dress uniform mercilessly. 

Then someone poked her- not Sheik, they were standing to her right and the poke had come from her left. So who was it? Zelda looked over to her left and tried to resist the urge to snap at who she saw standing there. 

It was none other than Marth, who she'd really grown to despise over the last three weeks. It was unfortunate, considering that he was the brother of her best friend, but at this point it really couldn't be helped. He hadn't been doing anything but provoking fights and generally being unpleasant. 

"It's almost time. You both ready?" Marth asked. 

"We both are." Zelda smiled innocently and jabbed Sheik with her elbow again as they started to mess with their collar again. 

"Alright." Marth cast a puzzled glance at her, but he didn't comment on it any further. "Remember the order?"

"Yes." Zelda responded. It was actually kind of funny that Marth was only acting like a real leader for something as trivial as this. He only bothered to step up when there was little to no risk involved. 

Truly an inspiration and an upstanding man, wasn't he?

"Great. Try not to die between now and when your name is called, okay?" Marth said as he began moving down the line again. 

In order to avoid an argument, Zelda waited until Marth was completely out of earshot before muttering "It would be a lot nicer if you would drop dead."

"Zelda, chill out." Sheik muttered. "He might be annoying, but that doesn't mean you should wish he was dead." 

"Be quiet."

They muttered something else, which was likely about how ridiculous she was being, but otherwise they surprisingly stayed quiet. Sheik didn't do that often. More teasing material, since they were probably just distracted by something or another. 

"First, I would like to have Marth Lowell take the stage." Chrom announced. 

Marth ran past Zelda, clearly having forgotten the order himself. He slowed his pace just before he reached the curtain, and he walked through it at a much more relaxed speed. 

There was a longer pause before Chrom started speaking again, going through a short speech about Marth's achievements (Zelda completely zoned out during this said speech, otherwise she would have been tempted to punch something) and then Marth was granted leadership of a squad. Not surprising, since he'd been getting groomed for a leadership position for the last few months. That didn't mean it wasn't frustrating, though- he'd already proved that he was actually a shitty leader when it really came down to it. But no, apparently he was some sort of military genius. 

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. 

"Next, Lucina Lowell." 

Lucina wasn't nearly as hurried as her brother, as she had been expecting the announcement. As she walked past Zelda, she whispered "Please don't embarrass me by clapping. Remember what Chrom said about the clapping?"

Zelda just laughed quietly and patted Lucina's shoulder. "Don't worry, I remember." 

The process was repeated, with a minor difference- Lucina wasn't granted a leadership of a squad. Instead, she was assigned to an assault squad that was lead by Dimitri. Which was honestly unfortunate, considering that Lucina would probably be a much better leader than Marth, and yet she wasn't acknowledged. 

Sadly, Zelda was towards the end of the line. She had to sit through three more of these speeches before her turn, so that was always fun. Her only consolation was that Sheik was after her in the order, so she wouldn't be as bored as them. Well, maybe bored wasn't the right word. Anxious was more like it. This was oddly stressful, seeing as Chrom hadn't bothered to tell any of them what their assignments would actually end up being, thus increasing the anxiety that they were all likely feeling. 

"Third, Robin Ackerly." 

This should be interesting. What would Chrom have to say about the tactician who seemed to have a knack for getting into drama? 

"Despite never actually having touched a book of tactics before his release from captivity, Robin has one of the greatest strategical minds I've encountered. He truly does have incredible skill, which is hard to quantify or even describe. His other achievements include being the only member of his group who can gain intelligence from a captured spy in a timely manner and also being quite skilled in the use of tomes." Chrom declared. "As such, it has been determined that Robin will be most useful serving as a strategist and intelligence officer."

An intelligence officer in addition to being a strategist? An interesting appointment to be sure, but Zelda was more concerned about the intelligence officer part. She knew that was just a fancy way of saying "torturer." After all, they'd been given a little booklet about every possible appointment and what each one meant as far as what duties you would be expected to perform. Intelligence officers were in charge of handling the information that spies sent along, as well as convincing captive soldiers to share their knowledge, often times forcefully. All in all, it was a rather concerning appointment for someone as... well, Zelda didn't want to say _unstable_ , but it sure was what her mind immediately jumped to when trying to describe Robin. 

"Fourth, Ike Greil." 

Ike took a little longer to realize that his name had been called, even if he'd known that he was supposed to go next. He ended up having to hurry over to where the curtain was, much like Marth. Despite the somewhat rocky start, everything seemed to go smoothly after that. 

Chrom spent a little while detailing how Ike had started taking proper assignments fairly quickly and so on. Ike had also ended up taking on the most assignments out of all of them, so he had quite the achievement list to go through. He ended up getting an assignment similar to Lucina's, but his was officially described as a frontline combat squad. 

"Fifth, Samus Aran." 

Samus was halfway to the curtain before her name was even called, showing that she was either a lot more anxious that she appeared to be, or she was just extra prepared. Knowing her, it was likely the latter. Mostly because she was calm under basically any circumstance, and she didn't seem to be bothered by crowds of people staring directly at her. 

...The thought of what awaited Zelda when it was her turn to stand on the stage and listen to the speech Chrom would give about her was enough to make her knees feel weak. She was not looking forward to this at all, but she refused to show her nerves. Fake it 'till you make it and all that. 

"When it comes to sharpshooting, there's no better person fit for the job. Samus is an incredible shot, both with her Gift and regular guns. Adding to this is her ability to stay calm under pressure. She has gone on several assignments that require highly technical skills and succeeded in each one. As a result, she will be serving as a member of our highly elite sniper corps, with authorization to go on solo reconnaissance missions." Chrom announced. 

That made a lot of sense, really. Due to this, Zelda was reasonably certain that she would get a similar assignment. After all, her and Samus had spent a lot of time on target practice together. Unless, of course, it was determined that her archery skills weren't quite good enough for the sniper corps. Then she'd likely be put into one of the many assault squads as ranged backup, taking the place of a mage or lesser archer. Which was nowhere near what Zelda wanted. She'd prefer to be part of the sniper corps, because they had missions that were actually interesting. It also decreased her chances of dying a useless death on the front lines. 

"Sixth, Link Faron." 

On his way to the curtain, Link paused for a moment to smile softly at her. She smiled back at him, then was made painfully aware of her sibling's presence by the poorly hidden snicker that followed. 

"Link is quite possibly one of the finest swordsmen I've ever met. He's incredible with a blade, and if I didn't know better, I'd say his Gift gave him the ability to slow time itself. In addition, while he might not be the most outspoken guy around, he really does have a natural ability to command respect. In many ways, he resembles his father, who is still sorely missed." Chrom paused for a moment, though from her spot backstage it wasn't quite clear to her why he paused. "As a result, Link will be leading a squad of his own." 

If Zelda hadn't been under strict orders not to clap at all while she was backstage, she would've been clapping as loud as she could. Instead, she settled for being proud in silence, which was honestly a lot less fun. She hadn't really expected him to get a leadership position right away, considering how he hadn't been receiving specialized lessons in that regard. Maybe Chrom was just that confident in Link's natural abilities? 

If so, good. Link would clearly be a better leader than Marth. Yes, it was incredibly petty that she was still mad about that. What was done was done, and she couldn't change it. Zelda thought she had earned the right to be a little petty in regard to the whole Marth situation, because he was just pissing her off at this point. 

"Go get ready. It's your turn next." Sheik whispered, giving her an elbow in the side for good measure. 

"I knew that. Dumbass." Zelda whispered and elbowed them back.

"Uh huh." She didn't need to look over at them to know that they'd just rolled their eyes at her.

"Seventh, Zelda Ishida-Harkinian." 

Even if Zelda had been expecting to hear her full name read aloud for the first time that she could actually recall, it was still startling to hear how long her last name actually happened to be. It was only recently that she'd learned that there was a whole other surname that both she and her sibling had. 

Damn, that had been an awkward conversation with their parents. 

While she reflected on that conversation, she very nearly made herself late. Zelda barely managed to make it through the curtain on time, and while she crossed the stage to stand next to Chrom with her hands clasped neatly behind her back and her head held high, the only thing that she could think was how _fucking terrifying_ this was. 

As a result, she barely heard what Chrom had to say about her achievements thus far. She managed to keep a neutral expression on her face, though it took a tremendous effort. While he kept speaking, her anxiety only rose. Where would she be assigned? The sheer suspense of the moment was almost torturous. 

She was so lost in her own head that she barely heard what she had been waiting for, even if she was really disappointed once she actually heard it. 

Ranged backup. Her worst fears had come true. 

Gods damn it. Of course she'd been placed on an assault squad as ranged backup. Her sniper skills must not be quite good enough, despite how hard she'd worked to make sure she kept up with Samus. 

Despite the crippling disappointment that this news brought on, Zelda managed to keep a straight face as she walked away from Chrom's side and to her place in line after Link. He shot her a brief glance of sympathy, which was helpful, but it didn't really do much in terms of her overall feelings. 

Now that she was onstage, she was able to get a better view of the proceedings. She watched the curtain as much as she could, as she wasn't supposed to move much now that she was in her spot. 

"Eighth, Corrin Akamura." Chrom sounded a little tired, but who could blame him? He'd been talking for so long. It was honestly a little ridiculous, but so far Zelda could tell that the Rebellion was rather fond of making a big deal out of things like this, leading to Chrom giving seemingly endless speeches. 

Shortly afterwards, Corrin emerged from the backstage area, a natural air of command practically radiating off of him as he walked. She had never seen him look so confident, actually. It was probably a good thing that Sheik wasn't out here right now, otherwise she was pretty sure that they would be having a hard time keeping their composure. 

"Corrin is another highly talented swordsman, as well as one of the most controlled manaketes around. Dragon blood isn't an easy thing to control, but he manages it extremely well. He is also a talented commander, with the ability to inspire people to follow him with ease. Due to the fact that we do not have any more assault squadron command positions available at this time, Corrin will serve as Marth's lieutenant." Chrom took a deep breath and then reached for a bottle of water that was cleverly hidden on the podium he stood behind. 

Once Corrin had reached his spot in line next to Zelda, she leaned over ever so slightly and whispered "You're lucky my sibling wasn't out here to see that." 

"Shut up." Corrin mumbled. Zelda didn't need to look over at him to know that he was blushing. 

Oh, this was going to be fun to tease the two of them about later. 

"Finally, Sheik Ishida-Harkinian." 

Shockingly, Sheik managed to appear onstage at the proper time and keep any traces of anxiety off of their face. Zelda was quite proud of them for that, because she knew how tough it was to do that. 

They ended up getting assigned to command of a spy team, which they were clearly pleased about, judging by the way they stood up slightly straighter after receiving the assignment. 

"Now, let's celebrate their appointments, shall we?" Chrom exclaimed, managing to put a bit more excitement in his voice this time around. 

././.

Zelda was back in her apartment at last. She'd ended up staying at the party for a bit longer than she'd expected, and now she was just exhausted. And more than a little pissed. Her disappointment had just turned to anger and resentment, which matched well with her frustration towards Marth. 

All things considered, she was not expecting to find a response to the letter she'd sent yesterday. 

She definitely wasn't expecting what form the response came in. 

"Hello, Zelda. Long time no see." The redhead standing in her kitchen turned around and smiled cruelly at her. 

"Roy?" Zelda whispered, taking a shocked step backwards. 

"What's the matter? Did you forget about me so soon? That hurts, princess." 

"You're a hard person to forget." Zelda responded dryly. "You were behind the letters?"

"Figured that all out on your own, hmm?" Roy laughed sarcastically. "I'd love to banter some more, because I have _years_ of insults ready for you, but regretfully I'm pressed for time." 

Zelda scowled and crossed her arms. "Oh really? I can't imagine what someone like you would have to do that's so important."

"Yes, I suppose it would be rather hard for someone like you to fathom. Imagine being trusted by your superior officer enough to be sent on high-profile missions." Roy leaned back against her counter and had the audacity to fucking smirk at her. 

"How the hell did you know about that?"

"Sweetie, I know almost everything." 

"Then why would you need my services? I'm not an idiot. I know exactly what you're here to ask me to do. Your letters made it obvious." Zelda had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. If this was what Roy's true personality was, gods she was glad that he hadn't always acted like this.

Roy almost seemed surprised by the question, but he covered it well. An almost imperceptible widening of his eyes and the brief hesitation before he answered were the only signs that he was startled. But once he did reply, it was with the sarcasm that seemed to be customary for him now. "Believe me, I think we'd be better off without you. But the Headmaster doesn't seem to think so. They're the reason I'm here in person."

"Really?" Zelda scoffed. "I don't believe that for a second." 

"Then let their words do the talking." Roy stepped forward and handed her a letter with her name written on it in thin handwriting. 

"You really showed up here in person to give me another letter?"

"Just read it, and then I'll explain what I'm doing here, princess." 

The mocking tone in his voice made her want to punch him, but she swallowed her anger and opened the letter. Zelda read through it all, growing more and more horrified as she read what was written there. 

When she finished reading it, her hands were shaking so badly she nearly dropped the damn thing. 

"I don't... I don't understand." Zelda whispered. "What... no. This can't... it's a lie." 

"It's all true, princess. Take a look at the picture they so generously enclosed." 

Zelda took one look at the picture and dropped both the letter and the picture. "I-"

"So will you do it?" Roy asked before she could even finish what she was trying to say. 

"What happens if I don't?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that." Roy laughed and rubbed his hands together. "Your friends die. We'll start with Link. And then to make your fool sibling suffer more, we'll kill Corrin next. After that, we'll put Sheik out of their misery. All your other friends will follow suit, and they will all know that it was your fault. They'll die horrible, painful deaths." 

"They were your friends once." 

He moved so quickly that Zelda hardly had time to register it, and then his hand was gripping her collar. Roy leaned in and snarled "I don't have the right to call them my friends at all. Don't you get it? I lied to all of you. I deserve nothing, but neither do the rest of you. Gods-damned fools, calling me selfish for wanting to avoid what you all had to go through. I had to endure my own hell, even if it was different from what you guys experienced. None of us are innocent children anymore, Zelda. This childish pointing of blame accomplishes NOTHING." 

"You're no saint, Roy. You're selfish and deceitful." Zelda responded. 

"Thanks, princess. You're so intelligent for figuring that out." Roy let go of her collar and shoved her back. "So. Your answer?"

Zelda took a deep breath. If she agreed to do this, she would be betraying all of her friends. She could potentially ruin their lives by giving Roy and the Headmaster the information they wanted. 

But at the same time, she could get back at Marth and the Rebellion's leadership by spying for their enemies. And part of her really, really liked that idea. 

The fact that such thoughts even crossed her mind disgusted her. She might be petty, but she wasn't anywhere near that petty. After all, she wasn't just dealing with her own life here. The lives of people she cared about were on the line. 

Maybe she could trick them? She could agree to do this in order to save her friends from the painful death that Roy promised, but then give them false information. That would likely help the Rebellion out at the same time, but the only thing she risked was getting caught and then having her actions misinterpreted. Which didn't matter all that much, as long as her friends were safe. 

Almost as if Roy read her mind, he laughed and said "Oh, by the way, don't even think about giving us false information. It'll make your friends suffer more in the long run."

"If you have a way of determining if the information that I would theoretically give you is credible, then what the hell do you actually need me for?" Zelda snapped. 

Roy winked at her and pointed to the discarded letter and photo at her feet. "Did you read that closely or not?"

"Well, no. Not really." Zelda admitted. "My bad. Was I not supposed to react so severely to what else the letter had to say?"

"Duh." Roy rolled his eyes. "Honestly, it's not that bad. You should be lucky that they're even giving you-"

"Okay, okay, I get the point." 

"Good. I wasn't looking forward to explaining it to you like you're stupid. Which you are. Just saying." 

"You're really not convincing me to help you." Zelda took a deep breath and tried to put this in perspective. Really, Roy appearing in her kitchen wasn't the worst thing that had happened today. 

"I could care less about that, princess. Now, your answer?" 

So he'd actually noticed that she was stalling. Shit. She still didn't have a solution to the dilemma she found herself facing, considering that the only plausible option that would hurt less people had been shot down. 

"...I'll do it."


	38. FIRST MISSION

It hadn't even been a week since the group's induction into the ranks of the Rebellion, and yet Lucina was already being sent on a mission. 

Honestly, this whole thing was kind of terrifying. At the moment, Lucina was sitting in the ready room with her gaze firmly fixed on the floor. A horrible anxious feeling twisted her stomach into knots, bringing with it a faint sense of nausea. 

A hand on her shoulder caused her to look up. Dimitri was there, a reassuring smile on his face. "Nervous?" 

"Just a bit." Lucina smiled weakly and tried to fight the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. 

"This should go pretty smoothly. It's a fairly routine mission, if that helps at all." Dimitri said. He offered his hand to her, which Lucina just kind of stared awkwardly at. "Corrine will be responsible for looking after you. She'll go over a final check of your gear before we leave, and if we see any intense combat, she'll look out for you."

"Alright." Lucina accepted Dimitri's help in standing up. Oddly enough, almost as soon as she stood up, the nausea vanished. 

The silver-haired girl in question was standing over by the door, deep in conversation with her twin. Interestingly enough, Silas, who was Corrine's boyfriend, was nowhere to be seen. As they walked over, Corrine laughed and ruffled her brother's hair. 

"Don't worry. I'll come back. Since I still haven't taken you to that bookstore like I promised I would, we can do that when I get back." Corrine said with her signature bright smile. 

"Sounds like a plan." Corrin replied. After a brief hesitation, he smiled back at her, though he still looked worried. Lucina didn't blame him in the slightest. 

Before she could respond, Dimitri cleared his throat and said "Corrine, I apologize for the interruption, but we're preparing to head out now. Your brother will have to leave now." 

"Of course. See you later." Corrine pulled her brother into a brief hug and then stepped back. He left shortly afterwards, pausing at the door to wave at her. Once the door closed behind him, Corrine turned back to Dimitri and Lucina. "Alright. Lucina, I'll check over your gear once. I'm assuming that's what you wanted me to do, yes?"

Dimitri nodded. "Correct. You'll also be keeping an eye on her." 

"Gotcha." Corrine gave him a thumbs up. She turned her gaze to Lucina then, scanning over her equipment. "Let me check the edge of your sword, and then you'll be good to go. Wouldn't want your blade to be dull, just in case we do run into trouble." 

As Lucina was unsheathing the Parallel Falchion, a spike of pain behind her eye caught her off guard. As she raised her free hand to her eye, an image appeared before her eyes, taking the place of her regular surroundings. Startled, she dropped the sword, but she never heard the metallic clang that followed it. The vision had completely taken over by then.

_Dimitri was standing over a body, his cape billowing in the wind. A scowl twisted his features almost unrecognizably, and his grip on his lance was so tight Lucina feared he'd snap it in half._

_She knelt to inspect the body herself, though she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew exactly who this was already._

_Sure enough, the silver hair that was drenched with blood was enough to confirm Lucina's suspicions. Forgetting that she was nothing more than a ghostly spectator, Lucina reached her hands out and tried to shake Corrine's shoulders. Her hands just passed right through the body. Horrified, Lucina stumbled back._

_There was so much blood. Lucina couldn't bring herself to look closer at the body to determine what had killed her._

Lucina was snapped out of the vision and back to the present by someone shaking her shoulders and calling her name. 

"Lucina, can you hear me? What happened?" Corrine asked, her voice raised out of concern. 

"I-" Lucina took a deep breath and looked around, trying to clarify where she was and shake off the remaining terror that the vision had brought on. The other members of the squad were all staring at her, obviously confused. "It's nothing. I'm sorry."

"You look like you've seen a ghost." 

_I'm looking right at one._

Almost as soon as she had the thought, she regretted it- after all, the future was never completely certain. That was what made it terrifying, really. She couldn't be certain that Corrine was going to die, because her Gift had a knack for showing her visions that were extraordinarily cruel when she least expected it. Two days ago, the one she'd seen about Ike... 

Well, that wasn't important now. 

"I'm serious, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Lucina tried to smile reassuringly at the silver haired girl, but it probably wasn't very successful. 

"If you say so." Corrine didn't look convinced, but she dropped her hands and picked up the Parallel Falchion, which had fallen at Lucina's feet. She was lucky she hadn't been stabbed as the blade fell.

Felix walked past the two of them, scoffing as he did so. "Honestly. You're already cracking under the pressure? I can't wait to see what you'll do in combat." 

"Felix! You can't just say something like that!" Ingrid exclaimed, looking up from her lance with a shocked expression on her face. 

"Too bad." Felix replied dryly. To Lucina, he said "Just make sure you stay out of my way, got it? You're not my responsibility, so I don't intend to bail you out if you get into trouble." 

"I wasn't counting on your help anyway. I can handle myself in combat, should we encounter any enemies." Lucina met Felix's gaze calmly, not daring to give him any sign that she was as weak as he seemed to think she was. They remained like that for a few seconds, before Felix turned away with another scoff. 

"Atta girl! That's the way to deal with Felix and his prickly attitude." Sylvain laughed and patted her on the back. 

In the corner, Edelgard sighed and picked up her axe. "Enough talk. Can we get moving now?"

"Patience, Edelgard. We're almost ready." Dimitri said. He looked around at the other members of the squad, taking note of how ready to leave they were. "Let's move out. Remember, we're not expecting combat. However, Felix, if you see anything out of the ordinary... you know what to do." 

"Of course." Felix replied. 

That didn't sound ominous at all. The vision had left an ominous feeling in the pit of Lucina's stomach, so naturally she was more prone to jump to unreasonable conclusions right now. Instead of giving the anxious thoughts more attention, Lucina just blocked them out of her mind as best as she could, instead focusing on the mission ahead of her. 

So they left the ready room, falling into one of the formations that Dimitri had drilled into her over the last week. They boarded a grey vehicle that looked significantly more threatening than the cars on the streets of Ebonfell normally did. This was clearly meant for battle, not a simple joyride around the city. These transports were fairly commonplace here at the staging center on the outskirts, because there was no way that military grade vehicles were allowed inside the city proper. Unless said vehicles were owned by the government. In which case, they were perfectly legal.

With Corrine sitting beside her, Lucina was able to stay mostly calm. The silver-haired girl kept up a reasonably distracting conversation, almost as though she knew exactly what Lucina needed to keep her calm. That was an odd feeling- not many people bothered to pay enough attention to her own feelings. It was so odd, in fact, that she could've sworn Corrine was reading her mind. Naturally, she decided to ask about the other girl's Gift.

"Hey, Corrine?"

"Yes?"

"I'm curious. What's your Gift?" Lucina asked, albeit more bluntly than she usually would. Nerves tended to make her speak more directly.

Corrine laughed. "I'm glad you asked. I could tell you were getting a little creeped out by how well I'm guessing your emotions. Basically, I can sense the emotions of others. Enhanced empathy and all that. Also, I've got dragon transformation and hero's blood, but mine is a lot weaker than my brother's for some reason. I tried to wield the Yato once and it didn't work out." At this, she turned her right hand so her palm was facing up. A faint scar that was roughly in the shape of the grip of a sword was visible there, which confused Lucina until Corrine elaborated on it. "The sword burned me. It's been... roughly five years since I tried, back when I first enlisted."

"When you were twelve?" Lucina asked, genuinely astonished. That seemed awfully young to join an army.

"Thirteen, actually. I'm currently eighteen." Corrine replied. "I'm surprised you didn't know that. I mean, Corrin and I share a birthday, since we're twins and all."

"We never learned our own birth dates." Lucina said, feeling a slight blush of shame rise to her face. Moments like these really accented how abnormal her childhood had been. "Chrom didn't bother telling us, either. Most of us have had to find out through other sources."

"So, some of you still don't know how old you are?" Corrine asked. She sounded faintly concerned, and Lucina didn't blame her.

"Unfortunately, yes." 

Corrine stared at her for a good thirty seconds or so, clearly having a hard time comprehending this new information. "That's... whoa." She laughed nervously and sighed. "Did you know how old you were when you were still in the Compound?"

"Yeah." Lucina swallowed back the memories that the mention of her prison brought up. Especially this subject. Memories of clipboard wielding Caretakers and all the experiments she'd had to endure at their hands swam through her head in a muddled mess, and she very nearly didn't hear Corrine ask if she was alright. "I'm fine. It's just... when we were there, the only way we got information about ourselves was if we glanced at the clipboards the Caretakers carried when they..." her voice faltered as she was about to say experiments.

"I'm so sorry. Forget I asked." Corrine whispered, her face pale.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know."

Awkward silence settled over the two girls. Thankfully, the troop transport came to a less than graceful stop- the bulky size of the vehicle made it hard to maneuver with any grace. 

"Alright. We're here. From this point onward, we'll be on foot until we reach the battlefield. Remember, we're here to provide backup. Don't go getting any delusions of grandeur, okay?" Dimitri said. "I'd like to keep you all alive."

Edelgard, who was sitting on Lucina's other side, muttered something that sounded an awful lot like "Ironic, coming from you." The sentence sent chills down Lucina's spine, and she shivered involuntarily. Edelgard sounded so... resentful. It was hard to understand why- Dimitri was the very picture of a perfect leader. Lucina couldn't have asked for a better one, honestly. She had been kind of worried that she'd be put on Marth's squad, and she wanted to stay as far away from her brother's leadership as possible. Mostly because she knew that he would likely crumple under the pressure, just like he always had. She didn't know why he kept getting leadership positions if all he did was fail to lead time and time again.

"Lucina? You awake?" Corrine asked. The other girl was standing at the door of the transport, her voice startling Lucina back to reality.

"Yes. Sorry about that. I got a bit lost in my thoughts." Lucina replied, standing up and walking over to the door.

"No worries. Happens to the best of us." Corrine said with one of her trademark smiles. She stepped out of the transport and walked a few feet away to give Lucina enough room to exit as well. Lucina ducked her head a bit and stepped out of the transport, the glare of the sun momentarily blinding her. The transport hadn't been well lit, and the sudden change in brightness was startling.

Once she'd regained the ability to see, she broke into a light jog to catch up with the rest of her squad. She knew that they didn't need to walk far- their end destination was about five to six minutes away from their drop-off point.

They shouldn't have encountered any trouble on the way over, despite the fact that they were walking into a potentially active combat zone. Their route was secret, known only to them.

So, naturally, it was quite a shock when gunfire erupted from the trees ahead of them.

"Get down!" Dimitri yelled. "Wait until they stop firing. Our weapons won't do much against hidden gunmen."

Dutifully, Lucina dropped to the ground. Already she could feel herself growing panicked as she listened to the bullets whiz over her head. Her leg ached, though she knew it wasn't actually injured. It was just phantom pain, forcing her to relive the agony of getting shot.

The gunfire stopped as quickly as it had begun. Without realizing it, Lucina had closed her eyes. Once silence reigned over the clearing once more, she opened her eyes again. She looked up to find Edelgard walking across the clearing.

"Edelgard, stop!" Dimitri shouted.

She didn't respond. And she didn't get shot, either. Lucina watched in horror as the white haired girl reached the treeline and spun around to face them, her axe held loosely at her side. "Surprise, brother."

Dimitri stood. Before anyone else could follow suit, he snapped "Stay down." Then, to Edelgard, he said "What is the meaning of this, _sister_?"

He spat the word out like it was poison. 

"Use your head, Dimitri. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"You're a spy." His voice was completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. The only sign of what he was feeling was the way his hands gripped the shaft of his lance. Lucina was afraid that it would snap in two.

"There you go."

"Why?"

"Because I cannot stand by while Chrom and his brain-dead fellow generals ruin all the ideals this army stands for. Ever since he gained command, we've been turning into exactly what we're fighting: hypocrites. The Headmaster might be a sick and twisted person, but at least they're honest in their intentions." Edelgard replied calmly.

Dimitri scoffed. "The Headmaster may be honest, but President Tabuu sure isn't."

Lucina felt faintly sick. The Headmaster? Honest? What kind of a world did she live in?

Apparently one where a person who probably got off to children suffering was considered "honest."

"If the Headmaster is to be believed, President Tabuu won't be a problem for much longer." Edelgard remarked.

"Regardless of that. Edelgard, you've committed treason. You know what happens to traitors like you."

"Ha! Me, committing treason? It's almost like you don't realize what you're doing. I'm not the treasonous one here. You are. By rebelling against the government, you're committing the same crime you accuse me of doing." Edelgard laughed.

Dimitri stepped forward. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucina saw the glint of sunlight on the metal barrel of a gun as the owner raised it and leveled it at Dimitri's chest. Horrified, Lucina was about to call a warning out to her squad leader when Corrine stood and ran towards him.

Then several things happened at once.

"Sir! Watch out!" Corrine exclaimed.

He turned his head from Edelgard to the trees, spotting the gunman. His eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks.

That was a mistake.

A single shot rang out across the clearing. Corrine reached Dimitri as the shot was fired, and she shoved him out of the bullet's path.

Only to take the bullet herself.

And Lucina knew she would never forget the strangled cry of pain that followed the bullet finding its mark.


	39. RATS IN THE WOODWORK.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains semi-detailed descriptions of blood and gore. Read at your own risk.

Generally, Dimitri was a very kind man. He always gave others the benefit of the doubt. Especially his sister.

But that had been before he'd learned of their father's demise at the hands of the Headmaster's army. And now it turned out that Edelgard was allied with those filthy bastards.

When he'd seen the gun leveled at his chest, he'd hardly had a moment to think before Corrine was shoving him to the side and the gun was going off. A moment later, she cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Almost as if he was in a trance, Dimitri knelt. The bullet had struck her in the shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscles like it was nothing. There was no exit wound, meaning that the bullet had likely embedded itself in her bone. Carefully, he rolled her over so her back was to the ground. There would be no saving her from this, he could tell. So he would try to lessen her suffering as much as possible.

"Can you hear me?" Dimitri asked.

"Yes, sir." Corrine responded. Her voice was tight with pain, and her eyes were unfocused. Dimitri didn't blame her. He'd been shot before, and it was not an experience he was eager to revisit.

"You're going to be just fine. I'm not going to let you die."

That was a lie. Dimitri may not have been a medic, but the rate at which she was bleeding was enough to tell him where this was going. He'd seen people bleed out before.

"You don't need to... lie." Corrine whispered.

"Am I really that bad with reassurances?" Dimitri tried to laugh. It ended up sounding forced and not at all like his usual cheerful laugh, which was to be expected.

Weakly, she laughed and nodded. "I mean no offense."

"Why would you take a bullet for me?" Dimitri asked.

"Byleth would be sad if you died."

"And what about Silas? Your family?" 

Corrine didn't reply right away. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment, Dimitri was worried that she'd gone and died already. Then she whispered "Will you apologize to them for me?"

"You can do that yourself." Dimitri's grip on her shoulder tightened, almost as if he was trying to will her to stay alive.

_I won't lose another friend. Not like this._

"You're still a terrible liar. Please, tell them I'm sorry." Corrine took a deep breath. "It's my job to... keep... you alive."

And with that, her body went limp as she exhaled one last time. Her red eyes stared unseeing up at the sky as her head lolled back, her muscles no longer holding it up. Ironically, the gunshot wound in her shoulder was still bleeding. Funny how that happened. A person could keep bleeding even after their heart stopped because of how long it took to actually circulate blood throughout their body.

The first emotion Dimitri felt was _rage_. Pure, unaltered _rage_.

How many people had died just like this? All for him, when he should have known better?

He'd sworn to never let anybody die for him after Glenn's death. And yet here he was, holding another one of his friends and staring down at their lifeless body.

All the times he'd done this flashed before his eyes- Glenn, his father, every single member of his previous squadron...

With shaking hands, Dimitri closed her eyes and set her body down. He stood up, grabbed his lance, and turned to face Edelgard. 

His _dear_ sister was staring back at him impassively, seemingly not caring about the rage that surely burned in his gaze.

"A pity." was all she said, the corner of her mouth twitching in a cruel smirk.

Dimitri laughed. Corrine's blood dripped off of his hands and slid down the shaft of his lance, but he didn't care. He held the lance in a white-knuckled grip, evidence of how pissed off he was.

Betrayal and death were a constant companion in his life. Ever since he was a kid, he'd been fighting this war. The Rebellion wasn't opposed to child soldiers, but neither was the government's army. It had been going on for years. He wasn't the only kid who had lost everything because of this petty conflict. There were so many kids who had been orphaned at early ages because their parents were killed because of the violence that constantly gripped the city.

Change was painful. He was well aware of that. But the fact that the Rebellion had been fighting as long as Dimitri could remember was... frustrating, to say the least. Change couldn't come without this war, but it had been going for far too long. 

Now that his own sister had given in to the very people they were fighting to destroy, Dimitri felt something inside him _snap_. All of the cracks in his facade of the perfect leader suddenly shattered as he lost the will to care about anything but getting _revenge_ for everything and everyone he'd lost. 

And, well, he was a very focused man when it came down to it. 

"The punishment for traitors is death." Dimitri growled. "And I'll be the one to give it to you, _sister_."

"Try me, brother." Edelgard replied. She readied her axe without dropping her gaze from his.

He charged at her, and she met him in the middle of the clearing. Steel shrieked against steel as Edelgard parried his running jab.

They had sparred together countless times. Each of them knew the other's fighting style almost as well as they knew their own.

Dimitri knew this would likely be an uphill battle, as Edelgard had more power on her side with the axe she wielded. Lances were vulnerable to axes, but he'd beaten her in sparring sessions. He could beat her now.

He had to beat her now. Because he would be the hand that dealt her justice.

Dealing her justice would fix things. It would have to.

Edelgard tried for a giant overhead strike, concentrating all her power into it. A mistake, but she was quite fond of trying to end things quickly by overwhelming her opponent with a single, crushing blow. Naturally, Dimitri was ready for it, and he sidestepped it easily. He struck at her side, jabbing forward and feeling a sick satisfaction when the blow connected. Tearing the lance out of her side as soon as the jab landed, he jumped back and waited for her next move. 

She pressed her hand to her side and cursed under her breath. Her hand came away bloody, and Dimitri broke into a feral grin at the sight. "Now your hands look right. The blood of those you've killed is visible on your hands. Do you enjoy it? Do you enjoy knowing you're a murderer?"

"Bold words coming from someone who's always killed with more enthusiasm than me." Edelgard hissed through gritted teeth.

Predictably, she rushed in again. This time it was with a sweeping blow to Dimitri's legs, which he very narrowly avoided. He didn't have enough time to counterattack before she was bringing the axe back around in a clumsy swipe. Still off balance from avoiding her initial blow, he couldn't avoid her axe. 

The first thing he felt was a blinding, almost white-hot pain in his side. Involuntarily, he cursed and nearly dropped his lance. Keeping a hold of it with his right hand, he kicked Edelgard away. She took her axe with her, causing more pain to stab through his body.

There was a lot of blood staining the blade of her axe, and even more seeped from the wound itself. Dimitri forced himself to ignore the pain and charged, using the shaft of his lance to catch Edelgard under the chin and snap her head back with a vicious jab.

With every movement, pain fogged his senses. He was dimly aware of movement behind him and to the right, but he didn't bother giving it too much thought. A flash of blonde hair betrayed that it was his own squad, disobeying his orders to stay on the ground.

But he couldn't afford to spare them any more thought. He was too focused on avoiding Edelgard's nearly overwhelming assault.

Dimitri grabbed her arm as she finished another powerful swipe much like the one he'd failed to dodge earlier. He twirled his lance once, angling it upward, and then pulled her forward, effectively skewering her. From this close, he could see her eyes widen in pain and surprise.

Her axe fell from her hands.

It wasn't enough. She was still alive.

So Dimitri tore his lance out of her, shoved her to her knees, and stabbed his lance downward.

Bone splintered beneath the blow with an ugly cracking noise. Edelgard didn't even have time to cry out as the lance shattered her skull and went right through her brain, killing her instantly. More blood ran down the shaft of the lance and soaked the ground beneath Dimitri's feet. 

He'd just murdered his sister. In the back of his mind, he was horrified with his actions, but... the majority of him was _pleased_ , in some twisted way. She had betrayed him, and he was sick of betrayal. So she had deserved this. Hell, she deserved worse.

Leaving his lance stuck upright in the ground, Dimitri walked forward and drew the sword at his side. The pain of the wound in his side had faded to anger, and his blood seemed to burn with rage.

He didn't have to stop now. He could kill the rest of these traitors to satisfy the need for revenge that had suddenly been awoken in him. As he walked forward, the rest of the soldiers who had come with Edelgard exchanged nervous glances. Without their commander, they didn't know what they were supposed to do.

Good. Disorganized soldiers were easy to take down. 

Dimitri reached the first one and killed them easily, taking their head off in a single swing of his sword. He didn't bother watching as their body collapsed to the ground, blood spraying from the stump of their neck in an arc of crimson. He turned and stabbed the soldier next to the one he'd just decapitated, twisting the blade of his sword and feeling a sick sense of pleasure as the steel ground against the soldier's ribs. Once he heard them cry out in pain, he tore the blade out and kicked them away.

Slice, stab, block, repeat. He moved through the loose group of soldiers, leaving a trail of still bleeding bodies in his wake.

His hands began to slip on the blood-slick hilt of his sword, and he barely registered the sound of a soldier's voice as they yelled orders.

The next thing he heard was the crack of gunfire.

Searing pain stabbed through his left shoulder, just above his heart. Another gun fired, and fresh pain coursed through him, centered in his right arm. Reflexively, he dropped his sword and put his left hand over the wound. Blood seeped from between his fingers and the two wounds on his torso, and the pain was so intense that his vision swam. 

While he was stunned and trying to regain control of his limbs, a soldier rushed forward and stabbed him in the gut. His vision literally fogged over then, and he hardly registered it when the soldier ripped the blade out of his gut.

But he definitely felt it when they stabbed him in the chest and then shoved him to the ground.

Dazed and in more pain than he'd ever felt before, Dimitri stared up at the sky. It was barely visible through the canopy of trees above him, but even so he could glimpse the blue sky beyond.

Oddly enough, it filled him with a sense of serenity. Most of the anger drained out of him, though maybe he was just hallucinating as a way to cope with his body rapidly losing blood. In its place was an empty calm feeling.

"Kill me." Dimitri whispered to the soldier standing over him, their face barely hovering in his vision. "End this. Please. You won." 

"You fought well." the soldier remarked, preparing to stab him one last time. "But this is only fair."

They brought the sword down, stabbing him through his right eye socket and continuing the motion until they hit his brain, killing him instantly.

Dimitri only felt the pain for a split second before everything went dark.


	40. LIKE A TRUE KNIGHT.

It was a remarkably beautiful day. The sun shone, and not a cloud could be seen in the sky.

The irony was not lost on Sheik.

Overall, the mood of the cemetery was even more somber than usual. The joint funeral honoring Dimitri and Corrine had concluded roughly fifteen minutes ago, and most of the average funeral guests had left by now.

All that was left was Byleth and her brother, some of Dimitri's friends, and Sheik's friends.

Two simple graves stood side by side. There was little rhyme or reason to the way the cemetery was organized, a fact which Sheik knew must bother Corrin. Surprisingly, he hadn't said a word about it. Of course, he hadn't spoken at all since he woke up this morning, but still.

Ever since the news about his sister's death had come back a week ago, Corrin had been virtually silent. His gaze was vacant, and he hadn't bothered to even try to get out of bed most mornings. Sheik was doing his best to help him, but the total lack of emotion his boyfriend was displaying concerned him. A lot. He would've expected something, but so far... nothing.

A sharp sob dragged him out of his thoughts, and he turned his head away from Corrine's headstone and the crouched figure of his boyfriend to try and figure out where the noise had come from.

Byleth knelt before Dimitri's grave, her head bowed and her shoulders shaking as she finally broke down. Her brother stood behind her, his usual impassive expression gone and replaced by a pained look of helplessness. Close to Seth stood Dedue, his own usually blank expression replaced by a deep scowl.

"Dimitri..." Byleth choked out. "Why'd you go and throw your life away like that?"

"If only I'd have been there..." Dedue whispered. "I could've stopped him from doing this."

"You couldn't have stopped this." Seth muttered numbly. He stared fixedly at the headstone of his dead friend with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"I refuse to believe what Felix says." Dedue's voice sounded dangerously close to snapping. "He wasn't too far gone yet."

"This shouldn't have happened at all." Byleth whispered brokenly. "I'm a fool for not noticing how bad he was getting."

"Byleth, this isn't your fault." Dedue said. "The blame is mine. I should've fought harder against getting transferred."

"No. That wasn't your fault. Orders are hard to work around." Seth replied. 

"It's hard to believe he's dead." Link remarked softly. Sheik directed his attention away from the conversation he'd been quietly listening in on and focused on Link. The subtle downward twist of his mouth and the uncertainty in his eyes spoke volumes about his emotions, more than anything he could possibly say would.

"I agree."

"Moments like these... I can't even begin to understand how Byleth must be feeling now." Link's gaze was fixed on her now, sympathy flashing in his expression.

"Losing someone you care about is never easy. Dimitri was a good man. Good men always leave behind the most scars." Sheik sighed.

"You're certainly poetic today." Link laughed ever so slightly, then looked almost guilty for daring to express a positive emotion in the midst of all this grief. "But, yes. You're right."

"It makes me wonder what the point of this war is. What's the point of all this suffering and bloodshed? Why do so many people have to die in order to bring change?" Sheik studied his hands. "Those who live get to enjoy a peace built on blood. And peace never lasts forever, so the cycle begins again."

Link was about to respond, but he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"It's not fair." Corrin whispered, his voice gravelly from disuse. "It's not fair and it never will be." He stood up and turned to face both blondes, grief evident in his eyes.

Oh, his eyes. They were so dull and listless. 

Sheik stayed quiet, not exactly trusting himself to respond. He knew what Corrin needed to hear right now, but he didn't know how to say it. Feelings had never been his strong suit- whether it be his own or someone else's. So instead of using words, he stepped forward so he was standing beside Corrin and took his hand. Almost immediately, some of the tension went out of his shoulders and he moved a little closer to him.

"You're right. It's not." Link said, breaking the silence that had settled over the trio. "Knowing people you care about aren't guaranteed to see the future we're fighting for..."

"Almost makes me wonder why we even fight in the first place." Samus commented wryly. She had walked up beside Link in time to catch his last sentence. Ike, of course, was at her side.

"We fight to spare the people we love from this heartbreak." Ike replied simply. 

"Sometimes that's not enough." Sheik pointed out. "Sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, it's just not enough."

Ike regarded him with a thoughtful expression. "Having something to fight for is a good motivator."

"Yes, but a man with nothing left to lose is probably the deadliest of them all." Link said. "When someone has their back to the wall and no regard for their own safety... " He didn't need to finish his sentence to communicate his point. The glance he sent towards Dimitri's grave spoke for him. 

A long silence followed Link's words. Nobody really seemed willing to speak more after that. As the awkward quiet stretched on, growing longer and longer, Sheik was tempted to try and change the subject, if only so the terrible tension in the air would be alleviated. In an attempt to distract himself a bit, he studied one of the headstones near the row the small group was standing in. The one that caught his attention enough to read the name was labeled "Peach Toadstool" with the caption "Her light will be missed."

That exact caption was engraved on many of the headstones, so she must've been one of the many war orphans who was later conscripted and then killed at a young age. At least she was lucky enough to have a named grave. Many soldiers in general who died like that never got that much.

"This war almost didn't feel real until now." Corrin finally whispered, which startled Sheik out of his thoughts. He looked up from the ground, where he had previously been staring. "The ones who died before now... they were strangers. Obviously not to everyone- they had someone to mourn them, I'm sure, but Dimitri and-" he stopped himself and inhaled sharply. 

"Yeah. I get it." Ike nodded. "They were our friends. Or in Corrine's case, a sibling. That loss won't be easy to forget."

"Neither of them should have died." Corrin stated flatly. "And I won't sit by and watch another person I care about get killed. I can't- I don't think I can do this again." His voice nearly broke as he spoke the last sentence, but somehow he managed to recover.

"None of us will need to do this again." Ike said, confidence edging his voice. 

"You can't be sure of that." Link responded.

"I know battle is uncertain. But I truly do believe that knowing you have someone counting on your return is more powerful than fear."

"That might be the end of you." Link sighed. "Look, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't underestimate just how far desperation will make someone go."

Before Ike could respond, Samus cleared her throat. "You both have different ideas about motivation and which is the more powerful of the two. Now is not the time to argue over something so... trivial."

As he looked at her, Ike's gaze softened ever so slightly and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Samus is right. Now is not the best time to argue."

"Of course." Link nodded. He paused for a moment, then added "I'd better go see if Zelda's about ready to leave."

The mention of his sister's name hit Sheik over the head like a ton of bricks. Suddenly he felt completely stupid for managing to forget about her- seriously, how the hell had he managed that? It's not like she was basically the only blood-related member of his family that he felt comfortable talking to. His parents didn't count in the slightest, as something about both of them just didn't... feel right. And Sheikah genealogy was a whole mess by itself, leading to a whole bunch of awkward introductions usually conducted by his mother. The usual "look, this is your third cousin twice removed" or "this is your half cousin" and so on. 

In any case, Sheik had been so consumed with his worry for Corrin and the harsh realities he was having to face in the wake of the deaths of two people he was familiar with that he'd completely forgotten to worry about Zelda. 

"Is, uh, is she doing okay?" Sheik asked Link before he could turn away. "I haven't really spoken to her about all this."

And of course his sister chose that moment to come looking for Link, just in time to hear his last sentence. She poked her head over Link's shoulder and slipped her arms around his waist, a slightly strained smile on her face. "That's very true. I feel like it's been a while since I last spoke to you for more than thirty seconds."

"I'm sorry." Sheik mumbled, feeling his whole face flush with embarrassment.

Zelda laughed quietly. "It's fine. I know you've got a lot on your mind. I'm okay with taking a backseat every once in a while. Though this better not become a regular occurrence, alright?"

"Of course not." Sheik replied quickly. He ran his free hand through his hair in an attempt to cover up how embarrassed he was, and he heard Corrin laugh quietly at his side. The sound of his laugh lifted Sheik's spirits almost immediately, and a relieved smile crossed his face. 

She watched the two of them for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "You two are adorable. Anyways, I'm doing as well as can be expected. This was... shocking, to say the least." Her gaze was focused on Byleth, who had since stood up and was now being hugged by Dedue. Link picked up on her concern and turned his head to kiss her cheek, which only added to Sheik's embarrassment. He wasn't too keen on watching public displays of affection like that in general, but the awkwardness was only increased when it was his own sister and her boyfriend doing the... showing off, for lack of a better word.

"That's a bit of an understatement." Sheik remarked quietly. He wasn't surprised that Zelda had answered his question without him even needing to ask it again, really. They were both fairly good at reading the other's body language and guessing what they wanted to say. Perks of being twins and all that. Sometimes the others thought they could read each other's minds, but that wasn't the case. Made for some fun pranks, though. 

The lighthearted mood that had begun to settle over the quartet quickly vanished again. Zelda nodded in agreement, but she didn't say anything else. After yet another long pause, Link was the one to break the silence.

"Are you ready to leave, Zelda?" Link asked quietly.

"Yes." Zelda stopped hugging him and straightened up a bit. "Sorry to leave so quickly."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it." Sheik responded. He was beginning to think that he'd like to do the same, but he would wait until Corrin indicated that he was ready to leave.

With that, Zelda and Link said brief goodbyes and turned to leave the cemetery, their hands clasped together as they walked side by side. During the short conversation he'd had with his sister, it looked like the majority of the stragglers had also left. Now it was just Byleth, Dedue, Seth, and the two of them.

"Sheik, can we..." Corrin's voice trailed off. "I'd like to go home."

"Of course." Sheik smiled softly at him, though it felt like someone had decided to grab his heart and do their best to crush it. Gods. He'd never heard Corrin sound so... defeated. 

Corrin cast one last glance back at his sister's grave, then looked right at Sheik and nodded. He hadn't let go of Sheik's hand yet, and Sheik certainly wasn't going to let go any time soon. 

He stayed silent for their entire walk home. His silence was downright unnatural, because Corrin was never this quiet. Sheik was definitely going to have to talk to him about this when they got home.

Almost as soon as they arrived at the apartment they were now sharing, Corrin disappeared into their bedroom and closed the door. Sheik stared after him for a moment, wondering if he should talk to him now or wait a little while longer.

Of course, he knew that if he didn't do it now, he'd probably either forget or just straight up chicken out. So, with a sigh, Sheik walked forward and knocked softly on the closed door. 

"Hey, Corrin? Can I talk to you?"

There was no response, so Sheik took a deep breath and opened the door.

Corrin was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. From this angle, Sheik couldn't really see his face, but he wasn't a fool. He didn't need to see his expression to know what he was feeling. Hesitantly, Sheik sat down next to him.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Corrin whispered. He didn't move, aside from dropping his hands from over his ears to his lap.

Sheik didn't respond right away. He didn't trust himself to speak, because the tone of his voice... gods. When he'd managed to get his emotions under control enough to reply, he said "No. Whatever you're feeling isn't wrong."

"But that's the thing." Corrin replied, his voice breaking. "I don't feel anything. I should feel something but I don't and it's terrifying me."

"It's okay. There's nothing wrong with you." Sheik said. He put his hand on Corrin's back to reassure him, hoping that the physical contact would help him in some way.

"She was my sister and I just feel numb. Like I can't even bring myself to care that she's-" Corrin cut himself off and took a shaky breath.

"Gone?"

Corrin nodded. "I didn't even have that long to get to know her again and now I'll never get to talk with her. And that hurts, but I can't really feel it." He paused for a moment, and then whispered "There has to be something wrong with me." in a choked voice.

"Look at me." Sheik whispered.

Somewhat reluctantly, Corrin sat up and looked at him. The sheer anguish in his eyes... Sheik really should have talked to him sooner. Curse him for being so uncertain around upset people.

"There is nothing wrong with you. Everybody grieves in different ways."

He dropped his gaze from Sheik's again. Gently, Sheik put his hand under his chin and tilted his head back up, then moved his hand so that it was cradling his jaw. Corrin put his hand over his and closed his eyes, then whispered something that Sheik couldn't quite catch. He didn't bother asking him to repeat what he'd said, as he had a pretty good idea of what it was. 

"I can imagine what it's like to lose your twin. And I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Feeling numb is normal. It's okay." Sheik murmured, lightly brushing his thumb across Corrin's cheek. 

"I don't..." Corrin took a shaky breath before continuing what he was trying to say. "Why'd she have to die?"

Sheik pulled Corrin into a hug instead of responding. He'd started to get the feeling that nothing he could say would be good enough, so he would let his actions do the talking.

The effect it had on Corrin was almost immediate. He tucked his head into the crook of Sheik's neck and gripped the back of his shirt. Shortly afterwards, his shoulders began to shake, and he started sobbing quietly. The sound tore at Sheik's heart, and he wished he could do something- anything- to make this easier for him, but there really was nothing more he could do. 

"She promised..." Corrin choked out.

"I'm so sorry." Sheik whispered. But, of course, that couldn't even begin to cover it. Corrin must have received countless apologies today, but not a single one of them was more than just a hollow consolation. Because how were you supposed to express your sympathy for someone's loss? Most people ended up apologizing.

Apologies would never begin to cover it. Sheik might not have experienced a loss like this himself, but he wasn't stupid. He could tell that simple words weren't even going to begin to help Corrin.

While he sat there, he was struck by just how odd it was that he was the one doing the comforting. Usually, it was the other way around: him sitting there and trying so hard not to fall apart, with Corrin holding him and talking quietly to him about completely unrelated things in an attempt to get his mind off of the sheer terror the nightmares always brought. Sheik wasn't quite sure if that would help Corrin, but it usually did help him. The reassuring sound of his voice was usually enough to cut through the panic. 

So, slightly awkwardly, Sheik began rambling about fairly light-hearted topics, such as the antics that Kohga, a member of his squad, would get into seemingly on a daily basis. Little by little, Corrin's breathing evened out and he began to calm down.

Right as he was about to break the hug to check if Corrin was still awake, he sat up and took a deep breath. For a moment, Sheik thought he was going to apologize, so he prepared to go on the whole "you have nothing to apologize for" speech.

Instead, he just wiped his eyes and whispered "Thank you." 

Completely caught off guard, Sheik stared at him for a moment before clearing his throat. "Of course." He was suddenly very aware that he was still wearing the suit he'd worn to the funeral, which was an odd thing to notice. It was probably just him trying to recover from the way he'd been taken off guard. Yeah. That's it. 

"What do you do when..." Corrin's voice trailed off, but Sheik knew what he was asking.

"Well, you've seen most of my coping methods by now." Sheik laughed softly. "I think it would be best for you to get some sleep."

Corrin nodded. A small smile touched his face, which lifted Sheik's own spirits considerably. He stood up and moved to grab his favorite hoodie and a pair of pajama pants. Right as he slipped off his suit jacket and moved to unbutton his white dress shirt, he hesitated.

It wasn't like he didn't trust Corrin, but he could hardly handle Zelda looking at his bare back, and that had only been because she had usually treated the injuries he got at the hands of the Caretakers or the Headmaster. Sheik had never seen the scars for himself, as he couldn't rotate his head like an owl, but he knew they were bad.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Sheik finished undoing the buttons of his dress shirt and slipped it off. He could feel Corrin's eyes on his back, and he almost felt more vulnerable than he'd ever had before.

Almost.

Sheik pulled his sweatshirt on, thankful for the black fabric that hid the scars from view. He quickly changed into his pajama pants, hating how flustered he felt. Once he turned around, Corrin looked back at him from where he'd fixed his gaze on the floor. 

The expression on his face was almost unreadable due to the mixture of emotions he displayed. Shock. Lingering grief over his sister. A trace of anger. Concern.

And for some odd reason, it gave Sheik a rare burst of confidence. He smiled slightly and said "I never change in front of people. The scars make it a little weird."

Corrin stayed quiet, though for a second he looked like he was going to say something. Thankfully, he didn't, otherwise Sheik might not have been able to continue. He could already feel his confidence fading away. 

"Zelda knows about them, of course, but you're the first person who I've trusted enough to willingly show them off." Sheik continued. "They're reminders of what's happened to me, and they're not even good looking. Hell, they're downright ugly. Honestly, I hate them."

Silence followed his words until Corrin finally whispered "Nothing about you could be ugly." He stood up and walked over to him, hesitantly placing his hands on Sheik's. His eyes asked a silent question: _Is this okay?_

Sheik nodded.

"Those scars do not define you. Just because some people might cringe away from the sight of them doesn't mean you're ugly. Far from it, actually." Corrin whispered. "I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out."

When Sheik didn't respond, Corrin smiled hesitantly at him and then continued speaking. He still looked exhausted, and a shadow of grief still clouded his eyes, but it was a smile nonetheless. "For starters, you've got the patience to put up with me. I know I'm difficult to deal with sometimes. But you're always there, even when you're not feeling great. All of us carry scars, and it just so happens that some of yours are more visible."

"I don't think you're difficult to deal with." Sheik whispered.

Corrin looked a little surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe I'm just blind, but you're nowhere near as difficult as I'd imagine I am."

"You're not difficult." Corrin replied. "There are times where you don't speak up when you're upset, but you aren't difficult to deal with by any means."

"I love you."

"I love you too." Corrin leaned forward and kissed him briefly.

Sheik very nearly kissed him again, but he stepped back and said "You need to sleep. I can tell you're tired." Before Corrin could protest, he added "You're not going to convince me otherwise."

With a soft laugh, he walked back over to the bed and sat down again. "I know better than to argue with you."

"Good." Sheik paused for a moment before lying down next to him, trying to gather his thoughts. Was he tired enough to fall asleep right now? Actually, that was a trick question. The events of the day had actually exhausted him, and now it was catching up. 

Almost without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Corrin and closed his eyes. Thankfully, he felt sleep pulling him under nearly immediately. However, right as he was about to fall asleep completely, he heard Corrin say his name.

"Sheik?"

"Yes?"

"The other day, my sister told me something about my Gift."

"And?"

"She told me about its side effects."

That couldn't be good. "I thought your Gift was relatively safe?"

"Turns out, the dragon's blood that allows me to transform enhances negative emotions. It makes them... worse, I guess is the right way to describe it." Corrin's voice wavered ever so slightly. "And I'd never really experienced that until now. If you hadn't been here, I..."

Sheik's breath caught in his throat and any thought of sleep vanished as he realized exactly what Corrin meant. "It's going to be alright. There's got to be ways to counter it."

"...Hopefully."

As he laid there, listening to Corrin's soft breathing as he fell asleep, Sheik couldn't help but feel that the effect of Corrin's dragon blood was a path to something much darker than he could ever imagine.


	41. THE LOST.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains semi-detailed descriptions of blood, as well as fairly brutal torture.

Samus was in a weird mood. She couldn't quite explain it, but she just felt... weird. It wasn't quite sorrow- she hadn't been close enough to either Corrine or Dimitri to feel more than passing "well that sucks" type feelings.

No, she just felt... maybe frustrated was the best word. She wanted to get out and do something, not just sit here and wait for orders. This inaction felt... wrong, somehow. Weren't they supposed to be in the middle of a war? How could they have literally nothing to do? Of course, usually Samus supposed that they'd be out on missions to track down and bring the people who had been responsible for the deaths to justice, but Dimitri had kind of done that already. Sure, he hadn't killed every last one of the soldiers who had ambushed his squad, but he'd gotten close. The fact that some of them were still out there... surely they needed to have somebody on the case.

At this particular moment, she couldn't exactly do anything other than what she was currently doing. Since it was pretty late, training was out of the question, and Ike was hanging out with some of his friends. So, here she was, sitting on the couch and fidgeting restlessly while she half listened to the dialogue of the movie she was watching. 

As the main character of the movie made a stupid decision with an even stupider line to explain themselves, Samus scoffed and leaned her head back against the couch. She rubbed her eyes and then refocused on the screen. "You stupid idiot. Why would you go into the spooky shed without any backup whatsoever?" Samus exclaimed like the main character could hear her. 

With an irritated sigh as a commercial came on and _totally_ ruined the moment of suspense, Samus stood up and walked into the kitchen. She was going to need some popcorn to get through the rest of this movie.

For a moment, Samus debated if she should attempt to make the popcorn with her Gift, since that would probably be faster than waiting for the microwave. Then she remembered what had happened last time she tried doing that and frowned. Yeah, maybe that wasn't a good idea. So she threw the bag into the microwave and glared at it like that would make it cook faster.

The noise of the popcorn popping masked the sound of the door to the balcony sliding open.

Once all of it had popped, Samus added some butter and just a touch of cinnamon. Contrary to popular belief (though it's not like she'd ever admit this out loud,) she actually enjoyed sweet things. Not overwhelmingly sweet, but a touch of sugar here and there... perfection. 

She turned to exit the kitchen, munching on some of her popcorn as she did so. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but an odd feeling ran down her spine nonetheless. Stopping in the entrance of the kitchen, Samus took a quick look around the apartment. Still nothing. With a shrug, she threw a piece of popcorn up in the air and caught it in her mouth, mostly to diffuse the odd tension in the air.

"Good evening." a voice behind her said. For some reason, it was vaguely familiar, but Samus couldn't figure out why. Naturally, she turned, swallowing her popcorn as she did so.

"Oh, hey. Hi, Roy." Samus replied, even going so far as to wave awkwardly at the redhead in front of her. Understanding crossed her face a moment later, and she frowned. "Wait, what the fu-"

Roy didn't let her finish her sentence. He just walked right up to her and punched her.

Too late, she noticed the dull gleam of brass knuckles in his hand.

././.

When Samus woke up again, the first thing she noticed was the splitting pain in her skull. However, she quickly forgot about it as she realized that there was _something_ pressed against her neck that felt an awful lot like a blade.

"Good morning, _sweetheart._ " someone whispered in her ear. Someone who wasn't Ike.

She wouldn't tolerate being called sweetheart by anybody else. Hell, she barely tolerated it when Ike did it. 

"Don't fucking call me that." Samus hissed, though the blade pressed to her throat did make it pretty difficult to speak.

"I can call you whatever I like. Would you prefer I called you a bitch?"

Ah, so it was Roy speaking to her. Why it had taken her this long to place his voice, she had no idea. Easiest to blame it on the pain in her head.

"That doesn't bother me, bastard."

"Don't get cute with me." Roy snarled, pressing the blade against her throat harder.

"What do you want?" Samus asked through gritted teeth.

"Good question. I'd like to slit your throat for practice- I haven't quite been able to get it down to one smooth cut yet, but the Headmaster specifically instructed me to leave you alive. And while I'd love to torture you myself, they believe it would be for the best if Ridley did it."

As if Ridley had been waiting to hear his name, the torturer walked in.

The white outfit and cap were gone. A shock of purple hair was exposed on his head, and the black jacket he was wearing was a hell of a lot more threatening than what he'd previously worn. Black leather gloves covered his hands, and a sinister blade gleamed at his side. He held an unassuming brown case, which Samus would've thought held a pen or something of the sort.

Ridley turned his cruel black eyes on her and smiled. "Should I start with the heretics fork or my knife?"

"The knife first." Roy said dismissively. "If you're not careful, she'll drop her head and spear herself while you work your magic."

"A pity." Ridley laughed. He set the brown case down on a side table that Samus hadn't noticed prior to this, where an array of other instruments were carefully laid out.

"What the hell is a heretics fork?" Samus asked, genuinely confused. 

“Oh, just a wonderful torture device that was created quite some time ago. Back before most modern techniques had even been dreamed up.” Ridley answered, drawing his knife and inspecting the edge with a careful eye. He walked right up to her, the pressure at her throat dropping away as Roy stepped back. A slight trickle of blood ran down her neck, but she couldn’t reach up to wipe it away even if she tried due to the shackles around her wrists.

Ridley pressed the knife to her face, just under her left eye. “I don’t think I’ll take out your eyes. I want you to be able to see what happens to your little boy toy.” As the words truly sank in, Samus snarled and thrashed against the chains. Ridley responded by dragging the knife in a crescent under her eye, opening a shallow cut there. It started to bleed immediately, the blood running down her face and dripping from her chin. She didn’t dare flinch, because she knew better than that. Show any sort of weakness, and you’d only make this worse.

Seemingly disappointed by her refusal to show any sort of reaction, Ridley shook his head and grabbed a key. He unlocked her left arm, and before she could even think about doing something like punching him, he had her arm in an iron grip.

Then he _twisted_ it. She literally felt the bones in her arm grinding together under the force of his grip, and then they both gave way with an ugly, wet-sounding snap. Dizzy with pain, she hardly noticed as blood started trickling down her arm. Suppressing a groan, Samus looked down and gagged.

One of her bones had stabbed through the skin of her forearm.

Gods, the pain was intense. And it only got worse as Ridley took his dagger and stabbed her upper arm, dragging it down a bit before jerking it out again. It must have been serrated, as it hurt worse as it came out. Samus didn’t dare look down at the wound, or even try to hide the pained hiss that slipped out of her mouth.

She could feel the blood dripping off her fingers, which she didn’t even try to move. Already, a small puddle of crimson stained the floor at her feet. Not that she could see it, since she was having a hard enough time staying conscious as it was. Moving her head down would likely make her black out. 

But it turned out that she didn’t need to do anything else for that to happen. Ridley grabbed her arm and forced it back into the shackle, adjusting it so that it forced the bone back into her arm.

Samus might’ve screamed, but she couldn’t tell. All she knew was sheer agony. As Ridley continued locking the chains, the pain radiated up her arm and through her whole body until she couldn’t stand it. Her body went limp against the chains, which only resulted in more pain. Black spots danced across her vision. She laughed once and muttered “Try harder, bastard.” before blacking out completely. 

Surprisingly, she woke up again fairly quickly. Ridley was still standing there when she opened her eyes again. When he saw that she was awake, he merely turned and opened the brown case.

“Good, you woke up sooner than I was expecting.” Ridley chuckled. His words were accented by a soft snap as the locks on the case were undone. “Fifteen minutes is a lot quicker than most of my other subjects. Just goes to show how much of a stubborn bitch you are, I suppose.”

“If you think I’m stubborn, you should see Marth.” Samus muttered. Her words were slightly slurred, but she forced her head up to look at Ridley. So far all the pain had been centered on the left side of her body, but now it appeared that he would be taking out the heretics fork. An odd choice, yes, but she certainly wasn’t going to complain. Especially because she didn’t actually know what it was.

Roy scoffed. “Oh, please. Marth is just pathetic. I’ve heard all about his ridiculous attempts at functioning normally. It’s hilarious, watching him struggle.”

“Love that.” Samus commented dryly. “If you’re looking for thanks, you’ll have to go talk to the Headmaster. I may not have agreed with Marth in the past, but that doesn’t mean he deserved what he got.”

“Funny how you think the Headmaster actually thanks me.” Roy snapped. “Put it on her. Then you know what to do.”

“Of course.” Ridley smirked and picked up a long, silver object in the shape of a slender cylinder with a bi-pronged fork at both ends. He twirled it between his fingers like a baton, seemingly oblivious to the way the light caught the sharp points of the forked ends. Once he was finished showing off, he picked up a leather strap with a small loop, presumably to strap the device onto her. 

He walked up to her once more and affixed the strap to her neck, placing it right above the shallow cut Roy had left earlier. Ridley tilted her head up before undoing the button on the smaller loop and slipping the pronged device into the loop, securing it with a soft snap. Almost immediately, she felt pressure just above her collarbone and under her chin, hardly daring to breathe for fear of stabbing herself with the device. “Like I said earlier, this is a bit of an older method, but it works. Tried and true.” He snickered. “If you so much as drop your head, the forked ends will stab you. You’ll be able to breathe alright, just don’t take deep breaths.”

“Why are you telling me how to avoid getting killed by it?” Samus asked, though it took her a bit to actually say the words due to how odd speaking with a sharp object propping her head up was.

Ridley just winked at her. “The terror of knowing exactly what this can do to you will only make this more entertaining.” 

“Okay but what’s the point?” Samus was determined not to let any of the fear that was slowly creeping into her show on her face.

“Simple. You won’t be able to sleep until I decide to take it off you. At any moment, your head could dip, and you’d be done for. I don’t think I need to tell you how much it would hurt to have a metal rod stab your collarbone and jaw at the same time. It likely won’t kill you, but you’ll wish it did.” Ridley stepped back and crossed his arms.

A chill raced down her spine as she listened to his words. Knowing him, he wouldn’t allow her to rest for a single second now that she was wearing the heretics fork. Was wearing even the right way to describe this? Already the muscles in her neck were screaming in protest.

“I hope your fifteen minute nap was pleasant. You won’t be getting much more rest for as long as possible.” Roy whispered. Samus resisted the urge to turn her head and look at him, though his voice was right next to her ear. When had he gotten there? Clearly she was more out of it than she thought, but the throbbing in her head and arm was awfully distracting, so she supposed that was an excuse.

But Samus didn’t deal in excuses, so that was irrelevant. She should’ve known when and how Roy got next to her.

However, all thought was chased from her head as Roy kicked the back of her right knee, which probably hyper-extended it. Samus couldn’t muster up enough will to care about her knee, as she had more pressing problems. Namely the fact that her head nearly snapped forward and caused the heretics fork to impale her. She caught herself at the last second, but sharp pain still spiked in her jaw and collarbone. She bit her tongue to stop herself from crying out, and almost immediately she tasted blood. She eased up a bit, since she didn’t want to accidentally bite her tongue off or something.

“Fuck off.” Samus hissed at Roy. To her surprise, he actually scoffed angrily. Was he really that easy to anger? She smiled sarcastically and said “What’s the matter, Roy? Did I hurt your pride?”

“Pride? Hah!” Roy reappeared in her field of vision, holding a small hammer that looked like it was more suited to woodworking than in a torture room. “Ridley, do you mind if I do this myself?”

“Go for it.” Ridley shrugged. “Makes no difference to me. I think you’d enjoy this part more, anyway.”

Samus was about to respond with something sarcastic, but Roy punched her in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her. While she was still wheezing and trying to catch her breath, he grabbed her right arm and twisted it a bit so he had her knuckles facing him. She was vaguely confused until Roy brought the hammer up, and then down.

More pain. She literally felt her knuckles shatter one by one. Once they were all broken, Roy hit her hand one more time. The pain nearly made her black out, but as her head began to drop, the heretics fork dug into her collarbone and chin. That pain kept her grounded, oddly enough. Samus wasn’t sure if she was screaming or not, and she could hardly feel anything other than sheer agony.

It was when Roy repeated the process on her left hand that she was well aware of her screaming. 

Again, the heretics fork kept her from blacking out. If anything, the leaning forward and back motion was more tortuous than the fork itself.

For an indefinite amount of time, Samus drifted between completely conscious and aware of the pain in her whole body to half conscious and practically swimming through a haze of agony and confusion. 

“That should be enough.” Roy said at some point. “Leave the heretics fork on her. The trap is laid, now we just need Ike to spring it. Like he undoubtedly will.”

Suddenly everything became clear. No wonder they didn’t want to kill her. They were going to use her as a way to get to Ike, and then kill him once he was off guard.

Curse her stupidity. Why had she let her guard down? Why had she allowed herself to get kidnapped like this? Ike was likely going to die, and it would be her fault.

If she had even a scrap of strength left in her body, she would’ve fought the chains. As it was, all she could do was whisper “No…” in a voice raw from screaming.

“All that posturing you do about being able to save yourself won’t help you now.” Roy sneered. “The only thing you can do now is pity yourself for being so weak when it mattered most.”

Samus didn’t respond. She refused to respond.

She would not give in to Roy’s taunts, no matter how much the words stung. He was right, so she would just accept that and move on. Or try, anyway.

_Don’t do anything stupid, Ike. Please. I’m not worth it._

_I failed you._


	42. THE BRAWN.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains semi-detailed descriptions of blood and gore.

It had taken Ike three weeks to convince Chrom to send a team to go get Samus.

Three. Weeks.

By the gods, he was pissed off. Samus could possibly be dead by now- who knew what Roy or the Headmaster had done to her?

But Ike hadn't allowed himself to even consider that possibility. Wouldn't dare let himself believe, even for a second, that she might be dead.

He stood in front of the unassuming grey building that nearly blended right in with the dull grey-green grass surrounding it. The landscape here was warped, almost like a giant hand had taken the land and formed it into waves.

"Ready?" Titania asked.

Ike nodded curtly. A quick glance around at the other members of his squad told him that they were also nodding, faces grim and their weapons at the ready.

"You know what to do. Ike, get the door down. Nephenee, Mia, you're behind him. Sothe, Soren, in the middle. I'll go in last." Titania's orders were swift and efficient. The squad carried out the orders equally as swiftly, and soon enough Ike was grabbing the handle of the door and forcing it open with his Gift.

Inside, lights flickered on automatically as they walked down the hallway. It was actually kind of creepy, if Ike was being honest. The walk down the entrance hallway seemed to be hours and minutes long all at the same time. Ike barely took note of his surroundings, only stopping once the hallway branched off into two parts.

"Go left. According to the information we were given in the note, Samus should be in the third cell on the right once we take this path." Titania whispered, hardly daring to raise her voice for fear of disturbing something.

It was far too quiet inside this place. The air itself felt still, like nobody had passed this way in a few days. 

Ike started walking again, taking the left fork as instructed. He pushed the thoughts of Samus's fate aside and just kept walking, scanning, hoping to see some sign of life.

To see some sign that they weren't walking right into a trap.

"Here." Ike whispered as he halted in front of the third door on the right. Summoning his Gift once more, he opened the door with little trouble. Perks of super strength. 

The sight that confronted him once he had the door open nearly made his knees buckle- though he couldn't tell if it was out of horror or relief.

Samus was alive. She was alive. It was going to be okay. It had to be okay now.

"Be careful, Ike. We don't know what kind of-" Titania started speaking, but Ike stopped listening and half ran half stumbled over to where Samus was chained to one of the special chairs the Headmaster seemed to be awfully fond of.

Her head was tipped back as far as the headrest would allow, and her eyes were half closed. An odd metal object shaped like a cylinder with two sharp points on either end was seemingly keeping her head pushed back.

Once he'd made sure that she was still breathing, he dared to look at the rest of her and see if there were any other visible injuries. Dried blood coated the shackles on her wrists, and-

Gods preserve him.

The sight of her broken knuckles, or the gash in her arm that had started trying to heal, or so many other things...

Ike took a deep breath and tossed Ragnell to the side. He brought both of his hands up to Samus's face, whispering "Hey, Samus, look at me. It's alright."

Her eyes opened, and seeing the pain there damn near broke Ike's heart. "You... stupid idiot." Samus whispered. "They're... waiting for you."

"That doesn't matter. I have you. It'll be okay." He leaned in and kissed her briefly.

"Idiot." Samus muttered again.

He stepped back and studied the chains that bound her, picking one up and gauging its weight. "This might hurt. I need you to be brave, okay? It'll be over soon."

She just nodded and closed her eyes again. And when he pulled on the chains, snapping them and then tossing them away, she didn't scream. Didn't cry out. Nothing. He removed the odd fork object next, undoing the leather strap and carefully picking the metal... thing up. Once it was free, he snapped it in half like it was nothing but a twig. Thankfully, the dull ache in his bones that using his Gift too much always brought up hadn't begun to form yet.

Samus tried to stand up. Almost immediately, her knees buckled and Ike was right at her side, catching her and yet being careful not to aggravate any of her injuries.

"Useless." Samus hissed. "I'm so fucking useless."

"It's alright. You're not useless." Ike replied as he helped her reach the exit.

Oddly enough, she didn't bother arguing. They reached the hallway, and immediately the other members of his squad formed a defensive arrowhead formation around them. Just like they'd planned.

All in all, things were going well. It was deathly silent in the building, but Ike didn't pay attention to that. The only thing that really mattered was that he got Samus out of here safely.

And then a low laugh sounded from behind them. Ike turned his head to look, but he didn't like what he saw. Or, more accurately, who.

Roy.

"Oh, good. You fell for it." Roy smirked. "Wonderful to see you, as always."

Well, fuck.

"What, are you surprised?" Roy asked, as he must have seen the emotions that flickered across Ike's face. "Were you expecting me to just let you walk away without saying hello? That hurts, old friend."

"You're not my friend anymore. Not after what you pulled before we got out."

Roy's smirk turned into a scowl. "I suppose you think you're clever."

"That's Robin's job. Well, it's supposed to be. I don't know what's going on with him anymore." Ike replied. "And before you ask, he thought this was a stupid idea. A lot of people thought this was a stupid idea." He glanced at Samus, who was still taller than him even though she was leaning against him. "The only thing I wish I could've done was get here sooner."

"Are you really so eager to die?"

"I won't die."

"Care to test that theory?" Roy drew his sword, the faint hiss of steel on leather seeming to echo around the hallway. For some reason, Ike noticed that this sword looked a lot more fancy than any weapon Roy should've been wielding. This reminded him that he really should draw his own sword, so he glanced at Sothe, who read the silent question in his eyes and nodded. The green-haired man then stepped in to take Samus's weight, leaving Ike's arms free. 

Then he drew Ragnell.

He was about to step forward when he felt Samus's hand on his shoulder. He turned his head enough to look back at her, and the expression on her face damn near broke his heart.

"Ike... what are you...?"

"Samus, go." Ike said, taking one of his hands off of Ragnell's hilt and resting it on hers. "I'll hold him off here while you guys escape."

"No!" Samus exclaimed. "Are you stupid? I'm not leaving you! Not now."

Carefully, minding the sword he held in his left hand, Ike stepped back over to where she was standing with Sothe's help and kissed her briefly. "I'll be right behind you. I promise. Now _go._ " He removed her hand from his shoulder and walked away, resuming his defensive position in the middle of the hall. 

The sound of running feet eased the weight on his heart, though not by much. He shifted his feet and adjusted his grip on Ragnell, his eyes locked on Roy. The redhead seemed to be alone, but that didn't exactly comfort him at all. At any moment, he could likely ambush and overwhelm him. After all, this was his home territory, and Ike didn't want to underestimate just how low Roy would go to achieve victory.

"How touching." Roy sneered. "A shame you won't be keeping that promise."

And before Ike could respond, Roy launched his attack.

He was fast, there was no doubt about it. However, Ike had sparred with him several times in the past. Back before everything was so much more complicated. At least in the Compound, he lived in blissful ignorance of the lies Roy had told to all of them.

In those sparring sessions, Roy hadn't been nearly as vicious as he was now. And the blades they had both been using were the same length, as well as wooden. Now, he was faced with an opponent who was out for blood, armed with a sword that was shorter than his own and definitely sharp.

Roy's first attack was an overhead cut, which Ike blocked. The shriek of metal against metal rang out, echoing strangely in the hallway. Using a fraction of his Gift, Ike shoved Roy away. He stumbled back a few steps, but recovered quickly. Once he recovered, he was attacking again. This time, he tried a running lunge that Ike barely managed to deflect. Even so, Roy's blade nicked his side, blood beading up from the shallow cut. He didn't cry out in pain. All he did was wince, then bring his knee up and drive it into Roy's stomach. He doubled over as the air was driven from his lungs, but he still managed to roll to the side and avoid the overhead cut Ike attempted. 

Still wheezing, he straightened up and brought his blade to a ready position. When it became clear he wasn't going to attack, Ike stepped forward with a horizontal swing. His swing had enough power behind it to cut a man in half, and yet Roy actually blocked it. Granted, he did stagger to the side quite a bit as he did so, but he didn't fall. He kept their blades locked and maneuvered both blades so that they were directly upright.

"Not... bad." Roy grunted. Ike could see the muscles in Roy's arms straining with the effort of maintaining the blade lock. "Good thing I know exactly how to beat you."

Ike just rolled his eyes in response and tapped into more of his Gift, the added strength beginning to bend Roy's arms back. His blade inched closer to his face, and Ike dared to hope that he would win this blade lock and get to press his advantage.

Then the force he was pressing against vanished completely.

He stumbled forward.

At first, he wasn't even aware of the pain.

All he felt was a dull ache in his midsection. His arms and legs seemed to go numb, and he couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Time itself seemed to slow as he looked down, hardly comprehending the sight of Roy standing there, half crouching, with his blade buried in Ike's gut. 

The pain came rushing in all at once, crashing over him like a wave. He made a choked noise of pain, then fell to his knees as his legs buckled. Ragnell fell to the floor beside him as his fingers released the hilt, the clatter seeming to echo throughout his skull instead of the hallway. Sluggishly- when had he become so slow? It was like he was moving through water instead of air- Ike touched the blade of the sword in his gut, hardly registering the way his fingers were now stained with blood. 

And then the pain got worse as Roy brutally withdrew his sword, twisting it as he did so. The blade tore through his insides with ease, and he might have been screaming. Ike couldn't tell at this point. All he felt was agony. He fell forward, one hand bracing him against the ground and one hand pressed to the stab wound in his stomach as if that would keep the blood from draining out of him.

There was an alarming amount of blood staining his armor and beginning to pool on the ground below him. 

Roy stood over him, watching the scene unfold with a cold expression on his face. He was standing directly in the pool of blood that only grew with each passing moment, but he didn't seem to care. "You know, I was going to leave you to bleed out in unquestionable agony, but I want to send a message." he said, a cruel smirk finally touching his features.

Ike opened his mouth to say something in response, but anything he could've possibly said was chased from his mind as he saw Roy bring his sword up above his head.

His last thought before the sword came down was of Samus.

Would she be okay without him? Surely she would. She was so strong... he'd always admired her strength, and there was no reason why it should fail now.

A sad smile crept onto his face as he whispered "I'm sorry" and bent his head forward. There was no point in fighting now. Even if he wanted to, he was too weak from blood loss to do anything significant.

He only felt the pain of the sword cutting through his neck for a split second before everything went dark.


	43. RAGE OF THE FELL VESSEL.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains semi-detailed descriptions of gore.

“I don’t know how to tell you all this.” Chrom said quietly. The tone of his voice alone was enough to raise Robin’s anxiety levels.

As if this wasn’t stressful enough already.

Robin was so focused on trying to figure out what Chrom could possibly say that he nearly didn’t hear what he actually ended up saying. 

“Ike is dead.”

The words hit Robin over the head like a physical blow. 

No way. There was no way this was true. Ike couldn’t be dead, he was _Ike,_ there had to be some mistake. Yeah, that was it. A mistake. Chrom must be trying to prank them or something. 

Robin looked over at Samus, and the expression on her face was all he needed to know. The carefully controlled neutrality that was cracking at the edges, the well disguised pain in her eyes… 

She had already known. And yet she had still come here to hear Chrom confirm it, despite having multiple broken bones and various other injuries from her time as a prisoner. 

He literally felt numb. Where were the emotions he was supposed to be feeling? Where was the anger, the need for justice or vengeance or whatever the hell people did in this situation? All he felt was the lack of feeling. Wait, no, that was wrong. He did feel something. Denial. Even with all this proof, he didn’t want to believe this. Ike was not dead, he couldn’t be dead, because he was too good in combat for that to even be a possibility. 

“You’re joking, right?” Robin asked, hating how stupid he sounded as he asked a dumb question he already knew the answer to. 

“I don’t joke about things like this.” was all Chrom said in response. 

The numb feeling faded, giving way to an almost crushing sense of despair. He couldn’t breathe. Could hardly think, beyond repeating the thought _Ike is dead, my best friend is dead_ over and over and over again. Vague snippets of memories flashed through his head- Ike helping him sort the books he’d gotten from the library by alphabetical order for the sixth time after Robin had decided he didn’t like the other way he was sorting the books, Ike defending him when Marth was seemingly out for his blood, little moments where the conversations they had went from serious to completely random… 

Robin was still trying to remember how to breathe when he heard Chrom start speaking again. Most of it didn’t sound important, so he ignored it. What could he have to say that was actually important? A lot of things he said seemed false or hollow, and Robin sure as hell wasn’t going to start listening to him now. 

Then he heard his name, and he was kind of forced to pay attention. 

“...recently captured an enemy soldier, and he has yet to be interrogated. Robin, your next mission is to get this soldier to crack using any means necessary.” Chrom said. 

And there was the anger. 

Did Chrom truly have no regard for the feelings of the soldiers in his command? Why the hell would he tell them Ike was dead and then just expect them to move on with their lives? This was much different than hearing about Dimitri’s death. This time, it was someone they’d all spent years with. It wasn’t that easy to get over. 

Robin could feel the other presences in his mind stirring, their too damn familiar voices telling him to just relax and let them take over now. This happened every time he got too angry, and it was getting harder and harder to resist them. But he wouldn’t give in just yet. He had to stay calm, stay rational just long enough to make it out of the public eye. 

After all, once he was away from people who would likely lock him up without a second thought once they saw how bad he became once the voices took over, he could relax a bit. His only defense was that it felt like someone else took control of his body when this happened, but nobody really believed him. So his only solution was to keep his worsening mental state a secret. Not even Lucina was aware of how badly he was being affected by the voices at this point. 

Chrom was still looking at him. The room had gone dead silent, waiting for him to acknowledge his orders. 

“When do you want me to start?” Robin asked cooly, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. 

“Now.” Chrom handed him a blue folder, which he took and tucked into his messenger bag. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of Grima’s Truth. He kept the tome in his bag at all times, and he’d taken to bringing his bag with him almost everywhere. Yes, this was a bad idea, seeing as the mere sight of it was enough to bring on a headache sometimes. Then again, Robin didn’t want to be caught in a situation where he needed the tome and he didn’t have it. It’s always better to be prepared, even if the item that you need to carry causes significant mental harm to both use and carry. “Further information is in this folder. You are dismissed.”  
With that, Chrom turned away from him and continued giving his friends their orders. 

Robin didn’t really try to hide the irritation in his posture as he walked out, Chrom’s ego be damned. He could care less if his commanding officer told him off for being “disrespectful” at this point. The way he saw it, Chrom had started this by telling him about Ike’s death and then expecting him to move on in five seconds. 

Half of him was terrified of the anger rising inside him, but the other half welcomed it. Maybe it would be more accurate to say three fourths, seeing as the other two presences in his head seemed to be fighting for control and they were both awfully loud. Once he got out into the hallway, he cursed under his breath as he realized that he needed to take the folder out of his bag. He’d been stupid to put it there in the first place without looking at it. 

How unprofessional of him. 

The prisoner was being held in a containment room not far from where he was now. Surprising that they were being held in the main headquarters, but Robin wasn’t the one who made the decisions. 

Unhurriedly, Robin tucked the folder away again and started walking in the direction of the containment room. He didn’t have to rush, and taking a slower pace allowed him to take his anger and sharpen it into a tool. Of course, he hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. If he was lucky, this would be fairly simple and he wouldn’t have to so much as touch Grima’s Truth. 

It would be a shame if the prisoner decided to antagonize him. 

He stopped in front of a plain black door, marked only with the number 15. Robin set his hand on the door handle, then opened it and slipped inside. No use alerting the prisoner to his presence quite yet. 

Robin just watched them for a second, sizing them up with a precise eye. They were slouched over in their chair, staring at the opposite wall with a dead gaze. Their hair was orange and stick straight. According to the file, their name was Gaius. So far, he- Robin could see that their figure was fairly masculine, so it was probably safe to assume he was a man- had been giving the regular intelligence officers a hell of a hard time. 

That was why he was here.

“So.” Robin stepped out of the shadows by the door. He maintained a neutral expression, not daring to express displeasure or anger. 

Gaius looked at him. He literally didn’t react, aside from a bored scowl creeping onto his face. “It’s a waste of time, rebel. I won’t talk.”

“That’s a shame. I was hoping to do this in a civilized way, but if you insist…” Robin pulled out Grima’s Truth and set it down on the table in front of Gaius. “I’m sure you know what this is.”

The fear in Gaius’s expression told Robin everything he needed to know.

“And I’m sure you know why I have it.” 

Slowly, he nodded. 

“Then let me get one thing clear. If you do not tell me what I want to know, I will not hesitate to make you regret that choice.” 

Robin didn’t actually like making these threats. He hated this part of his job with every fiber of his being. It just wasn’t in his nature to say these things. But he was angry, and his control over the other two… things in his head was slipping by the minute. Quicker, now, since he was looking right at Grima’s Truth. 

For a second, Robin actually believed that the threat was going to work. 

And then Gaius scoffed. “Nice try, but no. I’m not going to talk.”

Which happened to be the final thing that pushed him over the edge. 

He didn’t care anymore. Normally, he would have been a lot more patient, but his temper had already been at the breaking point. 

_Go ahead. Have fun with the fucker._

And then he blinked, and Gauis could have sworn the white-haired man’s eyes flashed blood red. 

That wasn’t the unsettling thing, though. What actually sent chills down his spine was the way he started laughing. 

“You really don’t get it, do you?” His voice had dropped to a low whisper. There had been an unsettling aura in the room ever since Grima’s Truth had been placed on the table, and now that same aura was almost sickening. 

Gaius tried to edge away from the man, but the handcuffs around his wrists prevented him from moving too far. “...Grima.” he whispered, hardly daring to voice his thoughts. “Who are you?”

Grima tilted his head to the side and smiled, the sinister expression looking out of place on the white-haired man’s innocent face. “You’ve answered that question already.”

“Who the fuck were you when you walked into this room?” 

A fool’s mistake. Grima stepped forward, and before Gaius could register what was going on, a crushing pressure was at his throat. “ _I_ am the one who asks the questions.” Grima snarled. He reached out his other hand, and the tome that had been lying on the table started to glow with a creepy purple aura. It rose into the air and then flew into his outstretched hand.

Now his fun would begin. 

It was tempting to increase the pressure he was applying to the prisoner’s throat to cut off his air supply completely, or merely jerk his hand to the side and snap his neck. But that was too quick of a death, and he was vaguely aware that Robin had a different purpose for being here. His scowl deepened as he thought about the pathetic creature who ruled this body for most of the time. Robin was a weak willed fool. He and the stupid man who he was slowly choking had that in common.

Grima did not tolerate fools. 

Still, he knew he couldn’t kill this particular fool right away. Aside from getting Robin in trouble, it wouldn’t be very fun. 

So, he let go of the prisoner’s throat. The pathetic gasps for air that followed were amusing, to say the least. 

“Now. Do you feel more like cooperating with me?” Grima whispered. 

Gaius shook his head, unable to respond. It turned out that gasping for air and speaking didn’t mix well. 

“A pity.” Grima smiled cruelly and glanced down at his tome. A simple phantom flame spell should be enough for the moment. He whispered the command word, then waited. 

The screaming started soon after that. Gaius’s face twisted in pain as phantom fire curled around his wrists and ankles, the stinging sensation exactly how it would feel to actually get burned without any of the damage to flesh. 

Grima let him burn for a few minutes. One minute for every time thus far he’d refused to talk, so three minutes in total. His screaming hardly faltered, except for infrequent pauses for breath. Once the three minutes were up, Grima halted the spell. Gaius slumped in the chair, his forehead nearly touching the grimy metal table in front of him.

Oh, good. Metal. He had some interesting ideas for later. 

“Will you cooperate?”

“Go to hell.” Gaius hissed through clenched teeth. 

With an amused bark of laughter, Grima resumed the spell. This time, he allowed the phantom fire to creep farther up the prisoner’s limbs, stopping just after his elbows. 

Four minutes this time.

Still the prisoner didn’t break. 

After the third cycle of phantom fire, Grima sighed irritably. This man was annoyingly stubborn, so he’d have to resort to something even more painful. Phantom flame was actually one of the milder spells in his tome, but still. Usually he didn’t have to use anything higher than that.  


Casually flipping the pages until he had the Thoron diagram and applications section open, Grima looked over the different ways he could use this particular spell. Two thirds of the way down the page, a particularly interesting use was described. 

It was a similar trick to the phantom flames, but that didn’t matter so much. It was brutal, and it was painful, and Grima wanted to see the prisoner writhe in pain.

Even if the pain he would feel was a lie.

Such was the glory of this use for Thoron. 

“Thoron.”

Gaius’s voice was hoarse from screaming, but that didn’t stop him from crying out as electricity coursed through his veins and went directly to his head, activating the pain receptors and causing him to strain against his handcuffs. Blood trickled down his wrists as the metal bit into his skin. That pain was real, but the intense agony was all in his head. 

How amusing. 

Once Grima halted the spell, the orange-haired prisoner seemed to lose all his ability to hold himself upright. His head fell onto the table with a dull thunk. It was almost like he was boneless, as his limbs were completely limp. Dispassionately, Grima flicked his pointer finger to the table and muttered “Thunder.” 

A jolt of electricity flew from his finger to the table, sending it right back into the prisoner due to the conductivity of the metal. Gaius sat bolt upright, pain written all over his features. 

“Now?” Grima asked. 

“Fuck you.” 

Grima activated Thoron again. 

“Speak. Or you will die.” Grima stated once he called the spell off once more. He was rapidly losing his patience. Using Thoron one more time would likely kill the prisoner, and he was getting awfully boring. Grima flicked the pages once more, opening it to Nosferatu. 

To hell with whatever Robin was supposed to do. The prisoner wasn’t going to talk, so it would be better if he just died.

Weakly, Gaius shook his head. “Never.”

“Enjoy death, then.” Grima smirked. “Nosferatu.”

The effect it had on the prisoner was almost immediate. He began a cry of pain, but it was quickly strangled as the crushing pressure inside his skull began to liquify his brain. Blood, deep red in color and oh so satisfying, began to run out of his nostrils. Then his ears and his eyes. Finally, blood trickled out of both corners of his mouth. He tilted his head back, a choked gurgling noise emanating from his lips as blood ran down his throat and began cutting off his air supply. 

It was over awfully quickly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t satisfying to watch. 

Robin snapped back to himself, staring at the body of Gaius and feeling nothing other than cold hatred. He couldn’t tell who it was directed at- himself or Chrom or the dead prisoner in front of him. Either way, it didn’t matter. 

Time to give his report. 

Chrom and Shulk were waiting for him outside once he stepped out of the room. 

“You were supposed to _interrogate_ him, not _kill_ him.” Chrom snapped. 

Shulk looked like he was going to be sick. 

“Sorry.” Robin shrugged. He was still feeling Grima’s influence, so he smiled and added “You shouldn’t have expected me to act rationally after informing me of my best friend’s death.”

And then he walked away, ignoring Chrom shouting after him. 

_Go to hell._


	44. THE WARRIOR.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: The end of this chapter contains mild descriptions of gore. Read at your own risk.

If there was one thing Link could be said to hate about missions that ended up requiring weeks or even months of fieldwork, it was the way he received orders in bits and pieces. He never knew the entire plan at a time, which resulted in frequent strategy meetings with Zelda and Midna, his lieutenants.

Actually, he'd just finished with one of those meetings, and now he was trying to find the other members of his squad to let them know what they were going to be doing in the morning. Link had already talked to Ravio, since he had been nearby the spot where Link had conducted the meeting. Now all he had to do was find Hilda and Leonie.

Luckily, he found them pretty quickly. It looked like they were getting ready to spar, judging by the way they were both stretching and joking around. Link waited for a break in the conversation before clearing his throat. Both girls paused and looked up at him, mild confusion (or, in Leonie's case, irritation) written on their faces.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've got our plan for the next few days." Link began, a bit hesitantly. He still wasn't quite used to giving orders like this, and it made him a bit uncomfortable if he was being completely honest. "I can come back later if now is a bad time...?"

"Nah, it's fine." Leonie said. "Orders are more important." 

"Right. Yeah." Link took a deep breath to steady his nerves. After four months of leading like this, he'd thought he would be used to this by now. "We're going to be moving out tomorrow morning to join the main front. We're about three hours out from the camp, and another fifteen minutes after that from the battlefield."

"Okay, so we're almost there." Hilda brushed some of her lavender colored hair out of her eyes. "Awesome." 

"That's all I have for you, so you can resume what you were doing. Sorry again for interrupting." Link waved and walked away, leaving the two to their own devices. 

It took about five minutes for him to reach his next destination. When he poked his head inside the tent he shared with Zelda, he was a little surprised to see her sitting on the ground with a clipboard in her lap and writing something. She looked up as he entered, an unreadable expression crossing her face for a second before she folded the paper she was writing on in half.

"Uhhh... Zelda, is everything alright?" Link asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Zelda responded absently.

"Sure." Link sighed and crouched down next to her. "Look, I'm worried about you. Two months ago, you started getting... distant."

"It's nothing." Zelda shrugged and held the clipboard closer to her chest.

"...Look, you know you can trust me, right?"

"Of course."

"If something is wrong, I want you to tell me."

Zelda smiled sadly. "It's nothing, Link. Trust me."

"Alright." Being a commander did have its perks, he supposed. He was a lot better at recognizing a losing battle when he saw one, and this was definitely a loss. Trying to get Zelda to speak to him was damn near impossible sometimes, which was a trait she shared with her brother. "At least tell me what you're writing?"

"Just something I needed to remember. Please don't worry about it."

Link frowned. That was... odd. "Zel, you have a really good memory."

"I don't want to forget this. It's extra important."

He didn't say anything in response. The possible implications of what she was saying were... troubling, to say the least. What could she possibly need to write down so she didn't forget? He wasn't lying when he said she had an impeccable memory. She had literally never forgotten anything, as far as he knew.

After a second of contemplation, he shrugged it off and decided to put it out of his mind. Sure, he was worried about her, but she would explain things on her own time. Link was confident that she would tell him if anything was seriously wrong.

Even so, a small inkling of doubt remained in the back of his mind. This wasn't the first time something about Zelda's behavior hadn't quite added up over the last two months, but...

No. It was nothing.

Link stood up again and grabbed some of the maps that were stacked on a folding table. You could never be too prepared, so like usual, he was going to go over the next day's route until it was basically branded into his brain.

././.

_She's a spy._

The sinister thought echoed around his head, startling him awake. He'd fallen asleep while studying the maps, so now his back hurt and he was hallucinating. Or something. That was the only proper explanation for the thought that had woken him up so suddenly.

_She's a spy and she's been lying to you for months now._

There was so much evidence that suggested this. Somehow, in the back of his mind, Link had been doubting her ever since he'd initially caught her reading a mysterious letter. Then there was the matter of the photograph he saw her looking at sometimes. Zelda never let him get too close to it, but he had caught glimpses of a blonde man with a familiar stare and a woman who barely looked like Zelda's mother. It had always perplexed him, because why would she have it? Unless it was some form of blackmail that Roy was using to keep her cooperating... 

Even so, it didn't excuse why she was doing it in the first place, if she actually was a spy. Despite the sheer amount of odd moments he'd caught, Link couldn't believe Zelda was really a traitor. Couldn't, wouldn't... it was the same, really.

Was it possible that this was his fault? Had he done something that drove her to this?

Stop. There isn't any _concrete_ evidence yet. The only thing that would prove this was a confession directly from her, but there was no way he could just outright ask her. How the hell would he even begin to do that?

"Hey, Zelda, I think you're spying for the Headmaster! Wanna go ahead and clear that up for me?"

Yeah, right. 

"Link?" Zelda's hand was on his shoulder. "Are you doing okay?"

Oh if only she knew.

"Yeah. I'm... fine." He tried to smile at her, but the attempt likely failed miserably. Times like this made him glad he'd never be the witness of his own expressions.

Though the proverbial puzzle pieces had clicked into place inside his mind, he still couldn't shake the light feeling in his chest that he always got when he looked at her. Love wasn't that easy to shake, despite how much people wished it was. 

"We should get ready to move. It's a bit early, but like you always say, being early never hurts anybody." Zelda smiled back at him.

That actually managed to draw a little laugh out of him, however forced it might be. "Right. Good idea."

If she noticed how off he seemed, she didn't comment on it. She stood up and moved to the entrance of the tent, casting one last glance at him. A hint of sadness crossed her face, but Link dismissed it as a trick of the light. He was determined not to think too much about the horrifying thought that she could possibly be a spy, despite how little things like that only cemented his subconscious's reasoning. Following her brief hesitation, she slipped out of the tent. The action was accompanied by the soft rustling of cloth against metal and the soft clanking that accompanied a person's every action while they wore armor.

Link sat there for a moment longer in an attempt to gather his thoughts. It didn't work well, but he still forced himself to get up and start putting on his armor. They were expecting to see battle today, so he would need to take the necessary measures to protect himself.

After one of his most successful missions, Chrom had given him a blue tunic that was similar to the one the Chosen Hero of the Hyrulean Royal Family had apparently worn in some long-distant war. He hated wearing it, since it felt far too light to offer him any decent protection, and it was far too flashy for his tastes. If it was up to him, he would be wearing a set of armor like a standard knight. Or even just the uniform that the regular foot soldiers were given: a dark green camouflage jacket and pants, reinforced with bulletproof lining.

With a sigh, he pulled the light chainmail shirt he wore under the tunic over his head. The tunic followed suit, and from there it was simple enough to put on his bracers and other assorted pieces of equipment.

He stepped outside the tent once he was finished gearing up. To his mild surprise, everybody else was already busy disassembling the camp. It was nice to see that he wasn't going to have to give more orders than necessary, seeing as his mind was still running at about a hundred miles an hour and he wasn't sure if he actually _could_ give proper orders today.

Link helped out here and there, mostly just observing as his station allowed him to do. He was better off supervising stuff like this. Nobody else minded, considering that his expertise was limited to combat and he was damn good at it. But when it came to putting up or taking down tents, he was utterly useless.

Once everything was packed up, Link made a simple motion forward with his right hand. The six soldiers set off, faced with a three hour long march followed by a minimal break before they would probably get sent into battle. 

The march was silent for the most part. Link didn't try to talk to anybody, but he could hear quiet conversations between the others. He noticed that Zelda was suspiciously silent as well, which really wasn't helping her case. Usually she was very talkative before a battle, since her nerves manifested in a very high energy level. But today she was just... silent.

As the six soldiers arrived at the main camp, they were met with a rush of activity. In the span of about five minutes, they were instructed to set their things down in a spot that wasn't claimed already and Link was nearly dragged off to a strategy meeting with the leaders of the assault. He got out of it by claiming he needed to check his sword's edge, and sent Midna to the meeting instead. Which was a breach of protocol, but the poor guy who'd been sent to get him just let the matter drop.

His claim of needing to check his sword's edge wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly true either. The Master Sword couldn't get dull as long as he was still ready and able to fight. He had found that the sword was more powerful when he was more energized, and weaker when he was weak. It was odd, and even with Sheik's help, he hadn't found any legends that tried to explain it. However, there were some minor things he could do to maximize the sword's power when it was at its most powerful, such as sharpening the edge like he would with any other sword. Instead of being a necessary part of the blade's upkeep, it was just something he did to be safe.

././.

They hadn't gotten much more than an hour to rest before getting thrown onto the front lines. By this stage in the fighting, Link's world had been reduced to slashing, cutting, blocking, and stabbing, his body going through the motions of swordplay so smoothly he didn't even need to think about it.

With a fierce back-handed slash, Link cut the throat of the soldier opposing him. Blood spattered his face, nearly getting in his eyes and blinding him. Impatiently, he used a part of his glove that wasn't bloody already to wipe his face mostly clean. He glanced behind him to check and see if Zelda was still there and guarding his back, like always.

Thankfully, she was still there. But then four soldiers rushed the two of them at the same time, and they were forced to split up. Link made short work of three of the soldiers, and was just about to finish off the fourth one when he heard something that made his heart drop into his stomach.

Zelda cried out in pain.

How he heard it over the noise of metal clashing against metal or guns being fired (albeit infrequently), Link had no clue. But he kicked the knee of the soldier in front of him, smacked the hilt of the Master Sword into their head, and whirled around.

Roy stood there, holding his blade to Zelda's throat. A nasty smirk was present on his face, making Link want to smack it off. With the Master Sword's blade.

"Let. Her. Go." Link snarled.

The redhead laughed harshly. "And why would I do that? As long as I have dear little Zelda under my blade, you'll do whatever I want. After all, it would be a shame if my hand slipped..." He pressed his sword to Zelda's throat harder, blood welling up beneath it. "Oh, and it's funny to watch you get so angry."

"Go to hell." Link raised the Master Sword. "I'll gladly help you get there."

Roy arched one eyebrow. His infuriating smirk didn't go anywhere, so now he just looked smug. "Oh? Well, in _that_ case, here." He lowered his sword and shoved Zelda forward.

Link stepped forward and caught her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Roy raise a metallic object that definitely wasn't his sword.

He realized several things at once in that moment. Time seemed to slow down as he observed the gun and where Roy was aiming it. It was pointed directly at the back of Zelda's head. As he noticed this, another truth came to light in his mind.

He couldn't allow Roy to kill Zelda.

Despite what he now knew (or what he assumed, though he had very solid evidence to prove his theory), Link was certain of this.

So, he did what was probably the dumbest thing he'd ever done. And he had done a lot of dumb things in his time.

Link shoved Zelda to the ground just as Roy pulled the trigger.

It was funny how he didn't even realize what had happened at first. He actually took a step forward and raised the Master Sword before he felt the pain. Then he stumbled, a quiet groan escaping his lips as he pressed a hand to his abdomen, where the pain seemed to be focused.

His hand came away bloody.

Still, he raised his head and glared defiantly at Roy. The redhead just stared dispassionately at him, wearing an expression that looked an awful lot like what Link pictured the Headmaster having. "Well. That's a shame."

"I'm... still willing to... follow through on what I... said earlier." Link ground out, forcing himself to finish his sentence through the waves of agony rolling through his body. 

Roy scoffed and kicked Link's ribs, knocking him flat on his back and nearly causing him to black out from the sheer amount of pain this caused. "Too bad you won't be able to." Then he looked up at Zelda, who had gotten off the ground and was staring at the scene in front of her with a horrified expression on her face. "Now, Zelda dearest, pay close attention. This is all your fault."

That was all the confirmation Link needed.

He had been right. She was a spy.

"Zelda... why?" Link asked quietly, locking eyes with her. "Why did you...?"

"I..." Zelda dropped her gaze. "I had no choice..."

Link closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you the one apologizing?" Roy asked, sounding completely confused.

"Because I wasn't able to protect the person I cared about most." Link answered. He could feel himself getting weaker as more blood stained the ground below him.

It turned out that dying hurt. A lot. How inconsiderate.

Roy scoffed. "Well, if that's how you really feel. Zelda?"

Confused, Link opened his eyes again. He watched silently as his girlfriend walked forward. Then both her and Roy crouched down next to him. Roy reached over him and forcefully grabbed Zelda's hands, then placed them on the hilt of his sword.

For a moment, Link was distracted by the way the sun winked off of the artfully crafted hilt of the sword in Zelda and Roy's hands.

They brought the blade up and then down. It looked like Zelda fought Roy a bit on the way up, but by the time the sword's path had finished, she wasn't fighting him anymore.

All Link felt was a split second of intense agony, and then blissful nothing.


	45. OUR HANDS ARE TIED.

Sheik was at the library. Why was she at the library? Well, that's an easy question to answer, considering the fact that she had recently learned that her best friend was dead.

Currently, she was standing in front of a shelf of old legends. Her feet had carried her to this section out of habit, and now she was staring straight at a whole lot of old books about the Master Sword.

Way to rub Link's death right in her face, subconscious.

With an irritated sigh, Sheik turned her back on the shelf. Maybe coming here hadn't been the best idea, but it was better than having to face Zelda and everybody else. She had hardly spoken to her sister since she heard about it, actually. Mostly because they'd had a small argument- okay, maybe it wasn't a small argument because they weren't speaking right now. 

Did that make her a shitty sister? Probably, but after what Zelda had said to her, Sheik couldn't really bring herself to care too much. No, that was a tiny lie. She did care about it. A lot. But she was also really angry with Zelda for accusing her of being insensitive and irrational.

Pardon her for having emotions. And also a strong reaction to the news that Zelda had been partially responsible for Link's death, seeing as she was half of the force behind the killing blow.

Just thinking about it now was enough to piss her off more. She had kind of been taking the sadness and grief and turning it into anger, because that was a bit more manageable. Also, she'd gotten sick of dealing with emotions like sadness after everything that she'd had to deal with in the last year and a half.

Ugh. Processing emotions was stupid. 

Since she'd had the argument with Zelda, Corrin had been giving her a lot of space. She could tell that he was trying to work through his own feelings about Link's death, so the space was doing them both some good. Still, she was going to have to talk to him tonight just to make sure he was doing alright. He really could be an idiot sometimes.

Sheik wandered around the library for a while. She didn't really have an end goal in mind, because thinking was kind of difficult right now. Her thoughts were muddled with grief and a whole lot of other more complicated emotions she couldn't name. 

A librarian was in the next row, so Sheik avoided it. She didn't want to talk to anybody right now, least of all a stranger. Sure, the librarians were nice, but ew. Social interaction.

After skipping the row with the librarian, she found herself in the nonfiction section. Which was a shame, since she didn't like nonfiction books all that much. Old legends were the perfect compromise between fiction and nonfiction, so they didn't count. But it was either this or backtrack a bit to find books she'd actually be interested in reading. If she did that, the librarian would probably ask her what she was doing, and that would be painfully awkward.

Nonfiction it was, then.

This section of the library was arranged by the type of nonfiction book it was. For instance, all the records were in one section, and all the autobiographies were in another. Within the records section in particular, the books were organized in descending chronological order. Sadly, the library's section of records was very spotty, because of the government "raids" on it a few years back.

She walked down the row, her eyes scanning the neatly labeled spines of the books. She hadn't found anything (as expected) until she reached the end of the row and a small, leather-bound book without a title. Which was odd, because all the other record books had a title. So, naturally she took a closer look at it. Judging by the state of the binding, this book was really old, so she'd have to be a lot more careful with it. Slowly, she eased the book out of its spot on the shelf.

Then all her caution was nearly for nothing as she caught sight of the cover.

A blood red Sheikah eye was the only thing on it, aside from a set of dates. The first one was from about 250 years ago, and the second one was actually fairly recent- nearly 18 years ago.

"So you're about as old as I am." Sheik muttered, turning the book over in her hands. Nothing was on the back cover, as expected.

She opened it. The yellowed pages creaked as she turned them, which was only mildly stressful. The first few pages were dedicated to listing the clan names and the known heads of each clan over the book's lifespan. After that, page upon page was full of names, ages, and dates of birth and death.

This book must be one of the volumes of the Sheikah genealogy records. Why did the library have this one? All of them were supposed to be back at the Shadow Temple, which couldn't be accessed by anyone who wasn't of Sheikah descent. None of the librarians (as far as Sheik knew) qualified, and then there was the fact that none of the volumes could be taken from the temple without the priests (or even the Sage of Shadow) finding out. It was forbidden for a Sheikah to steal a volume because of how valuable they were.

A troubled frown on her face, Sheik closed the book again and started walking towards the circulation desk. It was located in the very center of the library for convenience. She had to take a bit of a circuitous route to get there, because of the way the shelves were positioned, but all in all it didn't take long for her to reach the desk. 

Checking the book out was actually a very quick and painless process. As an added bonus, she didn't have to speak much. Hooray for library cards! Once she was done at the desk, she carefully tucked the book into her bag and left the library.

She glanced at her watch just to make sure she was still on time. Chrom apparently had more details about a mission she was supposed to be sent on in the next few weeks, and he'd asked to see her at the Rebellion headquarters at three this afternoon. It was currently two thiry, so she probably didn't have time to drop the book off at her apartment. With a sigh, Sheik dropped her arm to her side and fidgeted a bit with the strap of her bag. Was it worth possibly being late? No, of course not. If she was late, she'd get yelled at for sure, and she didn't do well with that.

To the headquarters it was, then.

././.

The meeting hadn't ended up being too long, thankfully. Sheik's temper, already a bit shorter than usual, had been made dangerously short by Chrom's opening remark of "While the loss of Link is unfortunate, this mission I'm going to give you is of utmost importance and cannot wait for anything."

Just thinking about it now was enough to make her want to hit something.

Sure, Chrom had always been a bit shady, but still. She didn't expect him to actually stoop to this level. After Ike's death, it had seemed like he and the other leaders of the Rebellion were actually willing to assign any missions. But now it was like that had been an act. Which actually made sense, considering how Chrom had just been oozing fake sympathy both times he delivered the horrible news.

Even just thinking like this was probably enough to get her strung up for treason, but Sheik could honestly care less at this moment. Reckless thoughts like this were common when she was in this frame of mind. That was a bit worrying to the small part of herself that was actually trying to process everything, but the vast majority of her brain didn't care.

Her bag was lying on the table in front of her, where she'd dropped it when she sat down. The record book just barely peeked out of it, and the sight of it snapped her out of the admittedly treasonous route her thoughts had taken her down. Gah, how could she have been so careless? Why had she dropped the bag on the table like that? How stupid was she? Sheik dropped her head on the table, which created a dull thunking noise and made her forehead hurt. Shortly afterwards, she picked her head up again and rubbed the spot that had made contact with the table.

"Is... everything alright?" Corrin asked, looking over at her with a concerned expression on his face. He had just walked into the room in time to see the events of the last thirty seconds. 

"To be honest? I don't know." Sheik sighed irritably.

"Right. Sorry, stupid question." Corrin winced. "Do you feel up to talking about it, or...?"

"Again, I don't know." Sheik leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling.

"Ah."

There was a beat of silence. For a second, Sheik thought Corrin had just given up and returned to the main room, where he had probably been prior to coming in here. But when she glanced over at the door, he was still standing there. It made her feel a bit guilty for kinda snapping at him, actually.

"Sorry." Sheik said before her brain could properly catch up with herself.

"There's nothing to apologize for."

"Yeah, there is. I know you're just trying to help, I'm just. Ugh." Sheik put a hand over her eyes.

"It's a lot to process, I get it. You don't need to apologize for getting a bit snappy. It happens." Corrin walked forward and sat down on the bed, an understanding half smile on his face. "It's tough to lose your best friend."

"Yeah. And not to mention how my dear sister was partially responsible for his death. I just want to..." Sheik trailed off and made a vague gesture with her free hand. She wasn't even really sure what it was supposed to represent.

"I can't even begin to imagine how that feels."

"It's not great." She laughed humorlessly and dropped her hand from her eyes.

Corrin hesitated for a moment. "I spoke with her earlier today."

That caught Sheik's attention. She sat up properly in her chair and looked directly at her boyfriend, who had a faintly upset expression on his face. "And?"

"She's... not doing well."

"Was she at least sorry for what she said?"

"Well. No. Not exactly. She did say that maybe it was a bit harsh to call you insensitive, but she was hurt by how you yelled at her. And she thinks that she's justified in everything else she said." Corrin wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I swear to-" Sheik cut herself off and took a deep breath. "All this time I was worried about Link doing something to hurt her. But then it turns out that I should've been worried about her! Unbelievable."

"She's being a bit unreasonable right now, yeah." 

"And she has the nerve to call me insensitive, like she's the victim here! She was the one who killed Link, and I'll be damned if there isn't something else going on with her that she just won't say!" With this, she stood up and started pacing anxiously around the room. "I just don't understand it! Why did she do it? Why won't she just, I don't know, explain herself?"

"Hey." Corrin stood up as well and stepped in front of her. Had it been anyone else that did this, she probably would've pushed past them and kept pacing. But she stopped in front of him and just kind of helplessly shrugged. "Take a deep breath. It's alright."

"It doesn't FEEL alright!" Sheik exclaimed. "Chrom and the Rebellion's leadership are acting like nothing is wrong, and they're not even going to bother looking further into what Zelda did, and I'm not getting any time to sort out what the hell is going on in my head and I can't do this. I can't!"

Cautiously, Corrin reached out and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Yes, you can. I know you can do this because I've seen you work through things like this before. You've always made it through before now."

Sheik reached up and put her hands on the sides of her head. "I hate this. I thought I knew who my sister was but I guess I really didn't."

He didn't respond. He just pulled her into a hug, which was what she preferred at this point anyway. There was a certain point when words just stopped doing any good. Like now. Almost subconsciously, she relaxed against him with a soft sigh.

They stayed like that for a while, the silence and his presence more comforting than anything he could have said. The emotions that had been threatening to overwhelm her slowly ebbed away, not unlike the tide of the ocean that Sheik had never seen.

Once she'd recovered enough to actually want to speak, she smiled (even though he couldn't see it) and jokingly remarked "I hope you won't try to report me for treason after what I said about Chrom earlier."

Corrin laughed. Like, genuinely laughed. He hadn't really done that much since his sister had died, so it was really nice to hear. That and she just liked listening to his laugh. "You said what I've kinda been thinking, so if I turned you in, I'd have to turn myself in as well."

She flattened one of her hands against his chest, right over where his heart was. "Well. Aren't we an interesting pair?"

"I think it's only natural at this point." Corrin said. "People we know have been killed because of information breaches, and they haven't even done anything to fix that. I'd be surprised if no one else was suspicious, really."

"Yeah. You're right."

"That aside, are you doing a bit better now?"

"I don't know." Her words didn't have any venom to them, like they had earlier. She was just... tired. But she had more stuff to do today- namely looking through the genealogy book, and she wasn't going to sleep until she had.

"That's a step in the right direction." He sighed quietly and stepped back, allowing his hands to fall to his sides. "Will you be alright on your own, or would you rather I stay?"

Sheik tilted her head to the side slightly. "Do you have other plans?" 

"Not if you don't feel well enough to be left alone."

"I feel fine." Sheik replied. After seeing the look he gave her, she hurriedly added "I swear I'm not lying to you. I'm well enough to be left by myself."

"Okay." Corrin looked faintly relieved. "That's good, since I'm pretty sure Marth would flay me alive if I missed this."

"I swear-" Sheik stopped herself and sighed. "Look, I appreciate the thought, but I'm not as important as getting orders."

"I know that, but I'm worried about you."

She was about to argue that he didn't need to be so worried, but then she thought better of it. He was slightly justified in worrying about her, thanks to some of the extraordinarily stupid decisions she'd made in the past. "There's nothing to worry about right now. I'll be okay." 

"Alright. I shouldn't be gone for too long."

Sheik nodded. She watched him exit the room, then turned back to the desk and sat down again. A great deal more carefully than she had been earlier, she picked up her bag and grabbed the book sitting inside.

Here goes nothing.


	46. THE LEADER'S LIES.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains mild descriptions of blood and gore. Read at your own discretion.

"Go, Marth! I've got your back!" Caeda yelled over the noise of clashing swords and gunfire. Really, it was an odd combination, one that Marth still hadn't quite gotten used to. There was something so inherently _wrong_ with it. 

But he was a soldier, so he wasn't getting paid to think about stuff like that. Well, of course, there was the fact that he was responsible for quite a few lives thanks to his father's decision to put him in a leadership position. Even then, he wasn't getting paid to think about the logistics of using a combination of swords, bows, and guns to fight their enemies, who were apparently doing the same thing instead of just using guns.

Come to think of it, that was only one of the strange things about this war. But-

Marth's thoughts were cut off as he had to stop abruptly to avoid getting split in half by a government soldier's claymore. With a single thought, he used his Gift to choke the air out of the soldier's lungs. They collapsed without so much as a groan, blood leaking out of their mouth. 

His destination was ahead of him. It wasn't far now. All he had to do was reach the little hill where the commander of this battalion was waiting. They were standing with their back to the battlefield, oddly enough, but their distinctive crested helmet was all Marth needed to see. He charged forward, tripping the soldiers who tried to come at him and leaving them for the others behind him to finish off. No more distractions.

Time to finish the mission and get everybody out of here before things went wrong. He had already seen several members of his squad cutting it too close for his liking.

Marth ran up the hill and readied Falchion. Blood slipped down the handle and made his grip on the sword a little perilous, but that didn't matter. He could kill the commander with a single thought by using his Gift, his own lungs be damned. Sure, he might have already been feeling the effects of using it too much, but that didn't matter. What was one more time?

"You're finished, Commander Radcliffe!" Marth shouted. Was it overdramatic? Yeah. Did he care? Not really. He kind of found it hard to care about a lot of things now. Why did it matter when anybody could be lying to him at any point in time?

The commander turned around and Marth could've sworn his heart stopped. 

It wasn't the face of Radcliffe that he was looking at.

Nope, it was Roy. Wearing Radcliffe's crested helmet.

"Oh, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever actually going to show up." Roy sighed and rolled his shoulders out. He cast the helmet aside, a breeze catching his perpetually messy red hair and blowing it about his head.

Marth honestly had no words. Faced with the guy who he blamed for almost everything that had, quite literally, wrecked both his life and his mental health (though the two were inextricably linked, as always) and he had no idea what to say. He'd thought about this moment for a long time, but every single fancy speech deserted him in this moment.

"What's the matter?" Roy sneered. "Surprised to see me?"

"I- what are you-" Marth stuttered, lowering Falchion to the ground. Bad idea, but he was too shocked to care.

"Come on, did Samus or Zelda not tell you about me?" Roy rolled his eyes. "I'm hurt. Really, I am. I should have gone after one of them instead of you."

"Hurt? Like you're actually capable of feeling?" Marth laughed harshly. "Shut the fuck up, Roy."

Roy's eyes narrowed, a dangerous light flashing behind them. His blue eyes, which had once been so captivating to Marth, were nothing more than dull chips of ice now. "Don't try and get cute with me. I'd hate to have to make your death quick instead of excruciatingly painful."

"You're not going to kill me."

"And why is that?"

"Because..." Marth trailed off. He honestly didn't have a good answer for the liar's question, and it flustered him a bit because now he looked like an idiot.

"Because what?" Roy pressed. His hand drifted down to the hilt of the ornate sword he wore at his side. When Marth didn't reply, he scoffed and tossed his head back to look at the sky. "Oh, Marth. You never were good at these games."

"You shouldn't have been good at them in the first place."

"Really? Please. Save the speeches. I don't care about what I could have been. This is the way I am. I don't regret what I did and I know I won't regret what I will do. Call me a monster all you like. It doesn't change the fact that you are just as bad as me." Roy snapped. He drew his sword, sunlight winking off of the blade.

Somehow, even though it had been nearly a year since they last spoke, Roy knew exactly what his weak spot was and how to exploit it. Marth hadn't heard much about the circumstances surrounding Link's death, but apparently Zelda had been partially responsible for his death. That made absolutely no sense to Marth. Then again, he wouldn't put it past her, mostly because he trusted no one aside from Caeda. But because Zelda had done that, then maybe she had done more for Roy than just kill her own boyfriend, and that was how the liar had learned so much about which points to strike that would hurt Marth the most.

...Or maybe he was just letting paranoia get to him. Caeda had been trying to get him to see that not everyone and everything was lying to him all the time. She was helping a lot, but still.

In all honesty, the most likely answer was that Roy knew him well enough by now to be able to identify his weaknesses from a short conversation like this. Yeah, that was it.

"You're wrong." Marth protested weakly.

"No. I'm really not."

Marth was about to respond when he heard footsteps halt beside him. He looked to his side and saw Caeda standing there, her delicate sword in one hand and a (presumably) stolen lance in the other. She smiled a bit at him, then turned her attention to Roy and any hint of joy in her expression faded. "Want some help with him?"

"No. I need to do this myself." Marth responded grimly.

He stepped forward and settled into his fighting stance. All his attention was focused on the redhead's face, so he didn't notice the little gesture that Roy made with his fingers on his free hand. Which turned out to be a mistake, because a second later he disappeared. Marth stared blankly at the spot where Roy had been, knowing he shouldn't hesitate but being unable to help himself.

Then someone shoved his shoulders and he stumbled forward, keeping all of his focus on not stabbing himself with Falchion as he fell. He hit the ground and rolled a bit, trying to use his momentum to get back on his feet. And he was mostly successful, too. Marth ended up in a kind of crouching position, the hand that held Falchion bracing him against the ground.

He looked up just in time to see Caeda's knees buckle as she cried out in pain. Roy stood behind her, and at first Marth didn't realize what had happened. Then Roy jerked his arm back, and as Caeda fell, Marth caught a glimpse of blood staining the sword in the redhead's hand.

Marth scrambled forward, leaving Falchion on the ground behind him as he did so, and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"No. No, no no." Marth whispered. 

There was a lot of blood already. Her face was pale and tight with pain, and one of her hands was pressed to the wound in a weak attempt to keep herself from bleeding out. Still, she tried to smile at him as she whispered "You're not... hurt, right?"

"I'm okay." Marth's voice was barely audible. "And you're going to be okay, you have to be okay, it's going to be just fine."

"Marth-" Caeda cut herself off with a wince and a quietly muttered curse.

All the times he'd had it drilled into his head to never let his guard down because the enemy could always have another trick up his sleeve had come to this.

He pressed his hands to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. But it was no use. Blood still kept leaking from between his fingers, staining his hands and sleeves red.

"Please." Marth whispered. "It's okay, I can fix this."

Caeda was getting weaker. He could tell. There was too much blood and he wasn't a doctor and this couldn't actually be happening, could it? This was just in his head, any second now she would bring him back to reality by putting her hand on his shoulder and saying "It's not real."

But it was real, even if his brain didn't want to accept it. It was real and she was dying.

"I love you, I'm sorry, I should have said it sooner, I'm so sorry." Marth whispered, his voice breaking. Tears he didn't remember crying were on his face.

"It's okay, Marth. I knew you did."

"That doesn't change anything. I'm stupid and I'm sorry and I should have been better because you deserve better."

When she didn't respond, Marth's heart dropped into his stomach. Her eyes were closed and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed was barely visible. It almost looked like she had died right then, but then her eyes wearily opened once more.

"Please don't..." Marth couldn't even finish his sentence.

"I love you." Caeda whispered. Then her body went limp in his arms as she exhaled one last time, her eyes staring unseeing up at the sky. 

It didn't really hit him what had just happened until he shook her shoulders and her head lolled limply from side to side. He bent his head and just kind of... broke. Well, maybe that wasn't the best word, but he didn't have any other way to describe it. This was significantly worse than discovering Roy had been lying to him and all his friends for years.

Everything was quiet- at least, it seemed quiet to him- for a long time, only broken by his own quiet sobs.

Of course Roy had to go and ruin it.

"Oh, Marth. You always were so bad at romance. Just look at who you ended up falling for in the first place." Roy laughed harshly. "That poor girl deserved better than you."

Marth stayed silent. Roy was right, for once in his life, but that didn't mean Marth had to like it.

"I was supposed to kill you, but this might actually end up being a better result." Roy continued nonchalantly, twirling his bloody sword around like it was nothing. Which it probably was to him. Just another person's life ended by his hands. What did it matter, when he'd already killed so many?

He could feel his temper rising. If he hadn't been so exhausted already, his Gift would have risen to accompany it.

"So, Marth, tell me. Did you really love her or were you lying to her too?"

"What do you mean by that?" Marth finally snapped. Gently, he set Caeda's body down and stood up, walking over to where he had left Falchion on the ground earlier.

"You know exactly what I mean. Or are you not going to pretend that you've been lying to a lot of people?" Roy sneered.

"Shut up." Marth hissed.

"No. I don't think I will." Roy scoffed and stopped in front of Caeda's body. He kicked at her shoulder and laughed as he saw the expression on Marth's face. "You tell just as many lies as I do. Face it."

"No. I am not like you. I am not." Marth pressed his free hand to his forehead, despite the blood staining it.

"You condemn me, but you lied to Caeda and so many of your friends over and over and over again." Roy sighed. "I've heard a lot about you. None of it is good."

"At least I didn't betray everybody! I wasn't responsible for the way so many of us were tortured over the years!" Marth shouted, holding Falchion up and leveling it at Roy's chest. 

"You're still not over that?" Roy rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I'm disappointed in you. Surely the so-called leader would have been able to get a grip on himself. Just look at you. You're falling apart. Even back then, you were barely holding yourself together. It's pathetic."

"Fuck you."

"Once upon a time, you wished I would."

Marth scowled. "You know that's not what I meant."

"So what? It doesn't change the fact that it's true."

"You disgust me."

"The feeling is mutual." Roy snapped. Even so, something that almost looked like pain flashed in his eyes as he spoke. A second later, it was gone, leading Marth to assume that he had just imagined it. 

That was the breaking point for Marth's temper. He let out a wordless snarl of rage and charged at Roy, launching a barrage of sloppy overhead slashes. It was a far cry from his usual precision-based style, but he was too angry to care.

Roy easily blocked every single one of his attacks, never bothering to attempt any of his own. He was obviously toying with Marth, which only infuriated him more.

Finally, Marth brought his sword up, back, and through in a vicious stabbing motion that was intended to skewer Roy like he'd done to Caeda. Roy deflected the blow, then stuck his leg out and tripped him. While Marth was falling, Roy stabbed his upper thigh.

Marth didn't even realize what had happened at first. Then, as Roy twisted his sword viciously in the wound and then jerked it out, the pain came crashing in all at once. He groaned and fell to one knee, pressing his hand to the stab wound as he did so.

"I'm going to leave you here to die." Roy said casually. "I won't particularly care if you live. Hopefully this experience teaches you a lesson."

All Marth could do was glare hatefully at Roy as he walked away.


	47. FRAGMENTED.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains semi-detailed descriptions of blood and gore, as well as suicidal inclinations/thoughts.

Robin opened the door of the cell, an impressive scowl on his face. He had just finished getting a briefing about what he was to do with this prisoner from Chrom, who had apparently decided that he needed a reminder that he was not allowed to kill the prisoners if they didn't cooperate.

The only problem with this was that he did it every single time Robin got an assignment. He was starting to get _really_ sick of having to sit through the same speech every single time. By this point, Robin was tempted to kill the prisoner without asking any questions, just to spite Chrom.

...where had that thought come from? Besides the obvious answer of his brain, of course. That was so against everything he thought he stood for that he legitimately paused on his way over to where the prisoner was actually chained to the wall. Their head was down, their hair hanging limply in their face, and they didn't look up as Robin sat down about seven feet away from them. 

"You alive?" Robin asked quietly, his finger idly tracing over the cover of Grima's Truth. The action was oddly calming and agitating at the same time, due to the nature of the twisted tome.

"I didn't do it." the prisoner whispered, their voice hoarse. Robin couldn't quite discern whether or not it was because of disuse, but he definitely wouldn't rule out screaming given their current condition. 

"Didn't do what?" Robin asked casually. He already knew why they were here, but it couldn't hurt to get them to fess up like this.

"I. Didn't. Do. It." they repeated, their head snapping up. Green eyes the color of a very specific brand of bottle glass glared back at him. There was a fractured quality to them that told Robin everything he needed to know. The other torturer really had done a number on them, but in the end they just wouldn't talk.

"So the disappearance, and subsequent death of-" Robin began asking, but the prisoner thrashed against their chains and cut him off.

"No! No! No!" they shrieked, their hands curled into fists as they pulled against the chains. "I! Didn't! Do! It!"

Robin sighed. "That's unfortunate. If you really don't want to talk, I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way." He flipped Grima's Truth open and scanned the pages as he went through them, looking for a very specific spell in particular. He didn't want to entirely rely on the tome today, since he was actually feeling more in the mood to watch the prisoner squirm under a knife as he-

Stop.

A vicious, long-bladed knife appeared in his hand as he whispered the command word for the summoning spell. The blade was impossibly black, so much so that it gave the impression of being a tear in the space around it. If it wasn't for the sick white light that glowed like an outline around it, of course. Robin held it up to the light and inspected the blade, a twisted smirk on his face as he noticed the way the prisoner's eyes filled with fear the longer that they looked at it.

"If you don't start talking, I'm going to start with your fingers." Robin said in a conversational tone. He lightly ran his finger down the knife's edge to demonstrate how sharp it was. A bead of blood followed the knife's path, but he hardly even felt anything. "And then after that, I'll make one cut for every time you refuse to speak."

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" the prisoner shrunk back against the wall, repeating their plea over and over again. It was grating on Robin's ears, to be completely honest.

He scowled. "Wrong answer."

"It's the truth! I got framed!"

Robin roughly grabbed their right hand and placed the knife at the base of their thumb. Previously, he had actually been somewhat sympathetic with them, but he had completely abandoned that now. Carefully, because he knew this was what made it hurt the most, he pressed the knife into their thumb and started cutting through the joint with a brutally slow sawing motion.

Their screams were entertaining, really. Not to mention how it was extremely satisfying to see them bleed.

Once he had finished cutting off their thumb, leaving them with a bloody stump, Robin held the severed thumb (which was still bleeding) up and inspected it. "Isn't it funny how much a person bleeds?" Robin mused, his eyes roaming from the blood that was staining his gloves and the stone floor of the cell. Interestingly, the floor was actually indented a bit, and a hidden drain was set in the center of the room. This made cleaning up after a particularly bloody interrogation nice and simple. "Tell me, my _friend,_ how much blood do you think a person must lose before they die?"

Their only answer was a broken sob. Had Robin known it would have been this easy to reduce them to this state, he would have done something even more painful to start off with. Or maybe that was just his sudden sadistic need to make this person suffer speaking.

At this point, he was starting to scare himself a bit, but his head was aching horribly and everything seemed foggy. No matter. He had a job to do. So sue him if he had a little bit of fun doing it.

"It's forty percent of your total blood content." Robin answered casually. "It's really quite fascinating to learn about. I've learned about it both theoretically and in practice. Which would you care to demonstrate with me?" 

"I swear I didn't do it." the prisoner sobbed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Robin's amused smile turned into a scowl real quick. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't do it! I was framed! I swear on my life it wasn't me!"

"Enough with your petty excuses!" Robin snapped. He took the knife and stabbed it into their now mutilated hand, twisting it for good measure. They howled in pain and pulled against the chains once before going limp. Now he could see a bracelet of bloody purple bruises around each wrist, thanks to all the pulling at the shackles they had been doing. "If you didn't do it, why are you here?"

"I told you... I was framed!" they whimpered.

"Try again." Robin twisted the knife again, drawing another howl of agony from them. "If you just confess to the crime, then I can make the pain stop."

Since he was in an... interesting mood, he didn't bother to mention that "making the pain stop" would probably involve killing the prisoner. They looked like they could use death, honestly. Living would probably be more painful than death, and though the nice guy inside him somewhere wanted to keep them alive because killing was bad, he considered himself a man of mercy. Killing could be a mercy, and so it would be. 

The prisoner didn't say anything. For a moment, Robin wondered with a detached sense of curiosity if they had passed out. But then they managed a pitiful whimper as he removed the knife from their hand.

"Come on. There's no use denying it. You literally won't be locked up in this gods-damned cell if you didn't do it." Robin hissed, bringing the knife up and tracing it across the underside of their jaw, pressing hard enough to make it bleed but not cut too deeply.

"I can and I will deny it!" the prisoner snarled.

Robin sighed and rolled his eyes. He shifted his position a bit, moving over to where their other hand was. As he raised the knife again, bringing it closer to their untouched hand, they tried to flinch away from him. The chains didn't allow it, but they still tried, and it was hilarious. This time, Robin didn't bother taking his time. He just cut their other thumb right off.

"Wanna keep lying to me?" Robin asked in a low voice. "Because I can- and I will- make this hurt worse. I can cut out your lying tongue, or I can take your eyes. Or I can take the rest of your fingers. What will it be?" His words were a sick mockery of what the prisoner had just said. 

Dimly, he was aware of Grima's Truth whispering to him from his bag. But he found it easier to ignore it when he was busy hurting people, so to make it stop, he traced the knife right along the prisoner's radial artery, pressing just hard enough to make them bleed a little. As they realized what he was doing, they went deathly silent and still, aside from a pathetic little whimpering noise.

Once he had removed the knife, the prisoner took a deep breath and whispered "It wasn't me, I swear. I didn't do it."

"You're beginning to test my patience." Robin said with a sigh. "The next lie that comes out of your mouth will be the last thing you say." 

They opened their mouth to reply, but Robin knew what they were going to say even before they said it. So, without another word, Robin roughly put his hands on the prisoner's face, forcing their mouth to remain open. He muttered a quick spell, which transformed the knife into a pair of pliers. The prisoner thrashed against their chains and tried to bite down on Robin's fingers, but he merely kneed them in the stomach and hissed "Stay still."

Robin lowered the pliers into their mouth and grabbed onto their tongue. It was a simple enough matter to heat the pliers up with a quick fire spell, and shortly after that, the smell of burning flesh reached his nose. He started to pull, stretching out the muscle until it came free, leaving the prisoner without their tongue and a whole lot of blood starting to fill their mouth.

"I warned you." Robin snapped.

Their pained whimpers were entertaining, really. And it was even more entertaining when Robin discarded the cut-off tongue, transformed the pliers back into a knife, and drove it into the side of their neck.

It wasn't until he felt their blood running over his fingers and the way they spasmed as he applied more pressure that he realized what he'd done. Or, more appropriately, why he had done it. Because he was reasonably certain that it had been all him doing the torturing today. He stumbled back, leaving the knife in their neck. Blood dripped off his hands and onto the floor, so he wiped them on the front of his jacket before picking up his bag and basically running out of the cell. 

Oh, gods. He'd just killed that prisoner entirely on a whim. Grima or the other one hadn't been involved at all. It was all him.

He hardly paid attention as he ran out of the Rebellion's headquarters and down the street. He smacked into more than a few people on his way back to his apartment, but he didn't bother stopping to apologize. This led to more than a few angry words or glances, but Robin didn't care. Couldn't bring himself to care. He was far too preoccupied with trying to figure out the ramifications of what he had just done.

Once he reached his apartment, he slammed the door and walked into the main room, where he started pacing back and forth with his hands on either side of his head.

Grima hadn't been doing the torturing today. He hadn't even poked his head out once, as far as Robin could remember. The other one hadn't either, though he was far less involved than Grima was. What did that say about him?

First things first. If he could hurt someone like that, then there was no telling what he could do to someone he cared about if he got angry enough. He'd already hurt Lucina once (to his knowledge- it was entirely possible that Grima had hurt her more without his awareness, because he had almost no control over him.)

The idea of killing himself had rattled around in his head for a little while now. Two months, maybe? He'd been getting progressively more terrified of the power within Grima's Truth and the other sides of himself- or whatever the two things in his head were. Gods, he hardly even knew who he was anymore.

It would be so much better for everyone if he just took matters into his own hands and ended it instead of waiting for someone else to do it.

_Yes, yes. Good. You're dangerous, Robin. Might as well just off yourself and be done with it. I can help you._

Robin stopped his pacing and stared straight into the kitchen, where the knives on the block were practically taunting him. His breath was coming in uneven gasps, and his hair was all messed up. All in all, he was physically (and mentally) a mess. Yes, Grima was right. He was dangerous.

_Get the knife, Robin. You know what to do. After all, you've done it to several people before, haven't you?_

Mechanically, Robin started walking into the kitchen. He grabbed one of the longer knives out of the block and tested its edge on his finger, satisfied when it drew a little bead of blood from him without causing any pain whatsoever.

He walked over to the window, rolling up both his sleeves as he did so, and positioned the knife vertically over his left wrist. Simple enough to start with that one. Gods knew how familiar this was to him, though he'd never been on the receiving end of it. 

The last thought he had before inhaling and preparing himself to actually cut a gash in his arm was, a little shockingly due to the sheer nature of the thought, of Lucina.

_Good thing she's not here to watch you do this, huh?_


	48. THE BRAINS.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains suicide.

One of the benefits of future sight was the constant knowledge that any moment could be the thing that triggered one of the disastrous fates for her friends that she kept getting tortured with. How fun!

In any case, Lucina was on her way to see her brother to check up on how he was doing (Caeda's death had been really rough on him, and though she hadn't actually _seen_ Marth since it had happened, she was still trying to check on him) when she saw it.

The thing that she had been dreading for weeks, ever since the initial vision showing her this future.

Lucina turned around almost immediately after the vision faded and ran towards Robin's apartment.

././.

"ROBIN! STOP!" Lucina shrieked, out of breath from her run over.

Robin turned, the knife pressed into the skin of his wrist. "Lucina? What are you doing here?"

"I had a vision- you trying to kill yourself. I can't let you do that, Robin!" Lucina answered, taking a step closer to him. She had her hands held up in a placating gesture, but all her attention was focused directly on the knife in his hands.

"This is for the good of everyone." Robin said softly. "I'm a danger to society, Luci. The voices in my head... Grima and the other one, they tell me to hurt people. Every day, they get stronger. I can't- I'm not strong enough to hold them back anymore! I'm going to kill someone I care about one of these days, and I won't allow that."

"No. No, Robin, listen to me. You don't have to do this. Please, don't do this. There has to be a way to control the voices, there has to be another way!" Lucina protested, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Everything, right down to the way Robin looked right now, was playing out exactly as it had in her visions. It was almost like she was just a spectator in another vision, but this time it was _real._ And if Robin did this, he would be _gone._

"I'm sorry, Lucina. There is no other way." Robin replied softly. He looked away from her and pressed the knife into his skin harder. Blood welled up from the cut, crimson and sickening. 

Lucina ran forward. She had to stop him. Desperately, she lunged forward, trying to knock the knife out of his hand. Robin just jerked the blade down, opening a gash from the beginning of his wrist to his elbow. Blood followed the blade almost immediately, and the sight of the cut was nearly enough to stop Lucina in her tracks. She felt like she was running in slow motion, unable to stop as Robin repeated the process with his other arm. 

And then he stood there, looking down at his handiwork as the bloody knife fell from his hands. She finally reached him, watching in horror as his knees buckled and the blood kept pouring from the cuts. 

The panic and guilt and shame gripped her heart like a vice, and she felt a horrible squeeze in her chest as she knelt next to Robin. She pulled him into her lap, resting his head against her thighs and looking for a way to stop the bleeding. There was so much blood, staining Robin's clothes and her own hands as she tried to put pressure on the wounds. Oddly enough, there was older blood on the front of his jacket already, but Lucina brushed past it- surely it wasn't important right now, he was literally _dying,_ extra blood that might have come from someone else didn't matter. 

"No, Lucina. Don't bother. This is what I want. I want to die. I'm better off dead than able to hurt my friends." Robin mumbled, looking up at her through pain-glazed eyes. 

"Robin..." Lucina choked out, unable to hold back the tears now. Her chest shook, and she started sobbing. "Please, Robin, it's going to be okay. I can fix this, can't I? I can still save you, it's going to be okay."

Robin laughed weakly. The color was starting to drain from his face as more and more blood spilled out of the cuts, pooling on the floor below them. "You and I both know there's no fixing this. I told you, this is for the greater good."

"The greater good? Robin, we both decided to forget about the greater good when we started dating! It would have been better if we hadn't, and yet here we are." Lucina whispered brokenly. "There has to be another way to solve this. There has to be a way to quiet Grima. I know there is."

"Did you see a future where we were happy together?" Robin asked suddenly. His eyes were clear as he spoke, the clarity both heartbreaking and unsettling. 

Lucina closed her eyes. She stopped trying to put pressure on Robin's cuts, feeling his blood between her fingers. He was going to bleed out, and there was no stopping it. The tears on her face almost felt like blood, which was an unsettling observation. "I did."

"What we could have been... tell me about it, please." Robin whispered. 

And so, through gasping sobs, Lucina began to tell the story of what she had seen. It didn't matter now, really. Robin was dying, and she couldn't save him. The one time she took action based on something she saw, and she couldn't save the one she loved. 

"We would have one child. Her name is Morgan, and she has blue hair like me, but she takes after you in everything else. She idolizes you, and wants to be just like you when she grows up. You become a famous scientist, making several discoveries that earn you widespread fame. I become a therapist, and together we live a long and happy life. Our friends each get the happiness they deserve." Lucina whispered, her voice breaking several times. But each time it broke, she forced herself to keep speaking. 

"Where do we live?" Robin asked, almost sleepily. His eyes were sliding closed and his grip on the front of her shirt was getting weaker. 

"In a small house on the outskirts of the city. There's a nice, big backyard where Morgan can run around. Somewhere along the line, we adopt a dog. His name is Frederick, but Morgan calls him Fred or Freddy. The two of them are the best of friends. You claim you didn't want a dog, but Frederick seems to take a liking to you anyway." Lucina replied, brushing his hair out of his face with her less bloody hand. "When you're tired after a long day of work, Frederick is always ready to greet you at the door. And he naps on your lap on the weekends when you're catching up on sleep, because the gods know you don't get enough on the weekdays."

"That sounds... perfect." Robin whispered. A small smile touched his face. The smile that Lucina so adored, that she had fallen for, that could make her smile even when she'd had a bad day... this was the last time she would see it. "I love you, Luci. I'm sorry that... you had... to watch me... die like this."

Lucina couldn't respond for a moment. She had to bite her lip and force a sob back in order to respond, but it was almost too late. "I love you too, Robin."

Robin's eyes closed and he took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his grip on her shirt lessened and his body went limp. Somehow, there was still blood seeping from the cuts on his wrists. As she watched, it slowed to a trickle, and then the crushing weight of what had truly happened settled in. 

He was dead.

Robin was dead. He'd killed himself, and now all that was left was his body in her arms and the blood on the floor. That blood should have still been in his veins. He should still be breathing, laughing and joking around with her. He should still _be_ here. 

But he wasn't.

All because Lucina, even with her Gift that let her see the future, couldn't save him from his true enemy- _himself._

Lucina bent over his body and just sobbed. She didn't know how long she was there, holding him and trying to come to terms with what she'd been unable to do. 

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. You're supposed to be smarter than this, Robin." Lucina choked out. 

Of course, he didn't respond. 

Almost as if her Gift was taunting her, she felt her eye start to throb. 

Then she was pulled into a vision. But it wasn't one of her typical visions, as evidenced by the first thing she saw.

_"Lucina? What are you doing here?" Robin turned, the blade pressed to the inside of his wrist._

_In horror, Lucina watched as she saw herself exchanging words with Robin. Then her past self was running forward, everything playing out exactly as it had earlier._

_Except this time, she managed to knock the blade out of Robin's hands._

_"You're being an idiot!" the Lucina from the vision exclaimed. "There MUST be another way out of this. You have so much to live for, Robin."_

_Robin looked at her, shame and shock clear on his face. "But what if I hurt someone? What if I hurt you again?"_

_"You'd never hurt anybody. I know you. Those voices in your head... they don't control you." Lucina from the vision whispered._

_"But what if they do?" Robin whispered back._

_"They don't." Lucina from the vision insisted. "We will get this figured out, okay? I know someone you can talk to. There are ways to get help. I have faith in you."_

_He stared at the knife on the floor, then took a long look at his hands. They were shaking slightly, so Lucina took them in hers and just held them for a bit._

_"Please, Robin."_

_"I..." Robin's voice faltered. Finally, he looked up at her and nodded once._

_She pulled him into a hug, though he was slightly taller than her, and whispered "You can do this. I believe in you."_

Lucina was pulled out of the vision. Someone was saying her name and shaking her shoulder. Her eye ached, and there were tears she didn't remember crying on her face.

"Lucina, can you hear me? What happened?" 

Slowly, Lucina looked up. Samus was crouching there, her hand on Lucina's shoulder and a faintly worried expression on her face. 

"Robin... he... killed himself." Lucina choked out in response. "I tried to stop him, but... I was too late."

"Gods, I... I'm so sorry." Samus whispered, sympathy heavy in her voice.

"I couldn't stop him." Lucina repeated, gripping the front of Robin's shirt tighter and refusing to meet Samus's gaze. "I thought I could, but..."

"It's not your fault, Lucina."

"Yes, it is!" Lucina choked out, finally looking the tall blonde in the eyes. "I should've tried harder, or done something sooner, or-"

"I don't think even you could have stopped this." Samus cut in. "Did he... did he ever tell you about his job?"

Caught by surprise, Lucina frowned. "No...?"

"He tortured people." Samus said bluntly. "It fucked with his head. Ike- before he-" she hesitated for a moment, but she took a deep breath and kept speaking. "Before he died, he used to talk about how he was worried about Robin from time to time. So, recently, I've done a bit more poking around into what he does- uh, did, and..."

"No. No. Robin would never." Lucina whispered. "He's an intelligence officer, not a sadist."

She couldn't believe it. Rather, she wouldn't believe it. Robin wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't some sort of sick echo of Ridley or the Caretakers.

"I've seen some of the bodies of people he tortured." Samus continued. She chose not to comment on Lucina's use of a present-tense verb to describe Robin, even though she was literally holding his dead body. "It was on the same level as what Ridley did to Pit, and I thought I'd never see anything that bad again."

"No!" Lucina exclaimed, her right hand curling into a fist against Robin's chest. "He's not a monster!"

"Lucina... I'm telling you the truth." Samus whispered.

He always said that to her when he was lying.

With that realization, it all just kinda... clicked. She couldn't tell what was the truth and what was a lie anymore, even coming from someone she knew she trusted, like Samus. With Robin, she'd just gotten used to all the little lies that were so obviously not true, yet he told them anyway and made them seem like the truth. 

"No... I can't... he's not..." 

Samus didn't say anything. She didn't need to.

"It's my fault." Lucina whispered brokenly. "I should've reasoned with him. I should've talked to him. I should've done something!"

"It isn't your fault." Samus insisted. "If anything, it's Chrom's for putting Robin on the assignment in the first place. It was clear that he wasn't exactly mentally stable before that, and this only made it worse."

Lucina was quiet for a long time. She just stared blankly at Robin's deathly pale face. Even in death, he was still the same boy she had fallen for back before any of this had happened. Before he'd become... this liar, this manipulator, this person she hardly recognized sometimes. And yet she had still told herself that it was all going to work out because together, they could work anything out. That was what he had always told her, but was that just another one of his lies?

It must have been, because Robin was lying dead in her arms.

Honestly, she wasn't sure what hurt more. The fact that he was dead or the fact that he had tricked her into thinking that everything between them was okay. That he was fine, and that anything terrible he said or did to her was her fault somehow. Or the way he told her altered versions of events to twist the blame for his actions onto her.

Oh.

_Oh._

"My father..." Lucina finally said. "It's his fault?"

Samus nodded. "Not yours. None of this is your fault."

"Robin always told me that it was... that it was always my fault whenever he yelled at me."

"How many times?"

"Too many to count. I don't. I don't know. His moods were so volatile. Some days it took the smallest thing to make him angry and it was always my fault somehow. He would change what happened when he yelled at me and I don't even know how much of what I'm saying right now is true. Maybe I'm just making all this up and exaggerating what happened. He said I did that a lot. Like after he hit me. He tried to pretend like it didn't happen, but it did, right?" Lucina's voice rose as she went on, getting more and more agitated the longer she spoke. "Did that happen or did I just make it up?"

"It happened." Samus answered simply.

"Okay. Okay. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy." Lucina kept muttering this under her breath, almost hysterically. But she couldn't bring herself to care much about what she sounded like.

"Luci, I have to go talk to Chrom about this- it's why I came over here in the first place, since I was asked to go get Robin and bring him back to HQ for a debriefing, but obviously that's not happening now. But I really don't want to leave you alone right now, so-"

"I'll come with you." Lucina interrupted.

"Are you sure?" Samus asked quietly.

"Yeah. I need to talk with my _dear_ father anyway." Lucina responded. "This is his fault. I want answers. Though I have a feeling I already know who put Chrom up to this in the first place."

"I'm not following." Samus had that funny little tilt to her head that she always got when she was confused.

"Marth." Lucina said flatly. "Chrom listens to everything he says. I'm almost entirely certain that this was Marth's ideas, and I want answers."


	49. NO BROTHER OF MINE.

Throughout the entire conversation that Lucina had with Chrom, Samus was distinctly uncomfortable. There was a look on her face that she never expected to see on the smaller girl. For this reason, it was hard to describe, but it unsettled Samus all the same.

"Thank you, Father. It was nice to get some clarification for once." Lucina smiled sweetly- too sweetly, as if she was trying to hide her true emotions under her usual cheerful attitude- and turned to Samus. "Now. I believe my brother is wallowing in his own self-pity back at his apartment. Ready to go?"

Samus hesitated, a chill running down her spine at the tone of Lucina's voice. "Yeah. Sure."

Chrom didn't so much as spare the two a second glance. He just turned back to the maps he had been studying, completely unbothered that everything his daughter had just told him.

That bastard.

While the two girls walked down the sidewalk, people tended to get out of their way once they saw the expression on Lucina's face. Sure, it made their trip over to Marth's apartment a lot easier, but Samus really wished that Lucina would say something. Her silence, coupled with her expression, was highly out of character for her. Then again, she had been manipulated and lied to by someone she cared about for months, and she had visibly changed during that time now that Samus was thinking about it. So maybe it wasn't such a surprise.

Once they reached Marth's apartment, Lucina knocked twice on the door. "Marth, it's me. Lucina. Will you open the door? I have to talk to you."

"Go away." was the muffled reply. "Whatever Father wants with me this time, I won't go."

"It's not about that. Now open the door."

"No."

"Damn it, Marth!" Lucina snapped. "Open the door, you coward!"

Samus blinked in surprise, the anger in the blue-haired girl's voice catching her completely off-guard. It wasn't unusual to hear her swear, but in this context, it was borderline heartbreaking. 

The door opened, revealing an exhausted-looking Marth. His hair was a mess and there were deep shadows under his eyes. And, of course, there was the matter of his eyes themselves- they were dull and nearly lifeless, almost like he was nothing but a walking corpse at this point.

"What the hell do you _want,_ Lucina?" Marth snapped, seemingly not noticing Samus for the time being. That was quite a feat, considering how tall she was. But Samus didn't mind. She'd rather stay out of the brewing fight that was about to happen.

"To talk. Can I come inside?" Lucina answered calmly, though there was definitely still anger in her voice.

Marth shrugged and stepped aside. "Sure. I guess."

Lucina stepped inside, vanishing from Samus's sight as she did so. The tall blonde moved to follow her, Marth surprisingly staying quiet considering that it had seemed like he hadn't even registered that she was there earlier.

Once all three of them were inside, Lucina and Marth entered the most intense staredown Samus had ever witnessed. And she had seen a lot of epic staredowns in her day. Hell, she worked with several of the "alpha male" types, and it seemed like they stared each other down on a daily basis. It was exhausting. But this? It far outmatched any of those by miles.

Honestly, it made her feel a lot like an outsider. She got the sense that she wasn't supposed to be watching this, but Lucina had asked her to be here. Casually, Samus glanced around the apartment and crossed her arms over her chest. Marth had a nice place. It was neat and everything looked suspiciously dust-free, though that was probably because all of his moping gave him a lot of free time. The walls were painted a weird off-white color that stood out starkly against the black furniture, which was probably Marth's doing rather than Caeda's. The blue-haired girl had always struck Samus as being more fashion-savvy, but that was useless now.

"Robin is dead." Lucina said calmly.

Marth laughed.

He legitimately started laughing hysterically, barely even pausing for breath as he said "Oh gods, finally!"

"Excuse me?" Lucina asked, a chilling tone entering her voice. Literally, if a person's voice could affect the environment in any way, Samus was certain that Marth would have been frozen solid. Of course, he deserved it, but coming from Lucina? It just felt... wrong.

"I suppose Chrom told you everything?" Marth asked, calming down enough to speak normally, though his shoulders were still shaking in laughter.

"Oh, yes. He told me how you suggested Robin's appointment as an intelligence officer. He also told me that he had no idea how poor Robin's mental health was until he learned of his suicide." Lucina was speaking in short, clipped sentences. If her brother hadn't already been in trouble before this, he was in for a whole lot of it now. 

"So what? Robin did his job. Of course, he ended up being incompetent as fuck, but he still did it." Marth shrugged carelessly. "Yeah, I knew about how screwed up his head was. Doesn't change the fact that he was a good fit for the job."

"Are lives really that fucking expendable to you, Marth?" Lucina asked coldly. "Are you really that willing to ruin someone's life for whatever twisted reasons your damned mind has cooked up to fit your warped perception of reality?"

Marth blinked in surprise as he heard the harsh words, but he just laughed once more and rolled his eyes. "And are you so willing to believe that he was a saint? He obviously wasn't, he murdered people for fun."

"Answer the damn question."

"Fine." Marth sighed. "I don't care that he's dead. Actually, I wanted him dead, but I knew that I couldn't do it directly. So this works."

"Do you even realize how awful that sounds?" Lucina was staring incredulously at him, almost like she couldn't believe she was hearing this from her brother. Really, Samus wasn't surprised at all. Marth had always been... off. Something about him just hadn't been right after they had escaped from the Headmaster. "I'm shocked Caeda ever saw something in you."

Samus actually laughed at that. She couldn't really help herself. It only served to piss off Marth more than just the comment alone would have, though.

"Excuse me?" Marth asked, his voice rising in pitch.

Lucina didn't bother responding. She just crossed her arms and glared at him.

"She _died_ not that long ago! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Marth exclaimed incredulously.

"Oh yeah? Not that long ago? It's been three weeks, dumbass."

"Yes, and I'm still trying to-"

"Shut the fuck up." Lucina snapped, effectively cutting him off. "I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses about how you're not 'mentally ready' to have a conversation about how much of a shitty person you are. You literally recommended someone who was even more unstable than you are for a job that drove him to suicide. Don't fucking talk to me about your mental health. I don't want to hear it."

"Lucina, please-" Marth took a step forward, a pleading look written all over his face. Samus was about to step in and tell him to respect her personal space, otherwise he was going to regret even being born, but it turned out to be unnecessary. 

"NO." Lucina shoved him back, a mixture of anger, confusion, and hurt showing on her face. "ENOUGH, Marth! I am DONE trying to defend you. I'm done with you and your lies and your disregard for anyone who isn't you."

"I was only trying to protect you, damn it!" Marth yelled. "Robin wasn't a good person, and I knew that he'd likely end up making your life worse if he was your boyfriend!"

"I'm a gods-damned adult." Lucina snapped. "I can make my own decisions about that kind of thing! You had no right to do something like that, and you certainly had no right to kill Robin over it!" She paused to take a deep breath and then continued. "Oh yeah, and of course there's the fact that you, ironically, might've made things worse for me by doing that. Do you have any idea what I had to put up with because his mind was so fucked up?"

His silence was enough of an answer.

"I can't even begin to sort all of it out now, because it's all happening too fast and I wish he wasn't dead but he is and it's your fucking fault. You just had to go and mess around in my life because you're controlling and selfish down to your core!" Lucina's voice wavered dangerously, but she kept speaking. "Ever since Roy, you've been trying to control every aspect of my existence. Don't even try to deny it. I've been getting sick of it for months, but I couldn't say a damn thing because I was afraid of hurting you. Well, guess what? I don't care anymore. You deserve everything I wanted to say to you. So, either you back the fuck off, or I'll cut ties with the Lowell family entirely."

An ugly silence descended over the room. Marth's eyes were wide with shock, and he opened and closed his mouth without making a sound rather like a fish for a few seconds. Finally, he managed to pull himself together enough to say "Lucina, you can't do that."

"See? There you go again! You're ALWAYS trying to tell me what I can and can't do! Enough is enough, damn it!" Lucina threw her hands up in the air and sighed in frustration. "When will you get it through your thick skull that I'm not some pawn to move around as you see fit?"

While she waited for Marth's response, Lucina looked over Samus. The poor girl looked like she was about ready to just shut down, in all honesty. Samus gave her a thumbs up behind Marth's head and mouthed the words "You're doing great, you can do this." That seemed to help her out significantly, though she still looked like she wanted to cry.

"I just want the best for you." Marth replied lamely. It was written all over his face that he knew his response was complete and utter bullshit, and yet he still said it anyway. Of course.

Lucina scoffed. "Really? Are you really going to keep claiming that? You sound like Robin when he was in one of his moods."

"Don't compare me to him." Marth snapped.

"I don't care what you think about it." Lucina said flatly. "There's no avoiding that you're a terrible person, just like he was." It visibly hurt her to say those words, likely because of how against everything she had previously known it was to call Robin terrible. "After all of this is done. I don't ever want to speak to you again. I want to move on with my life and get away from the people that keep trying to control me. Robin is dead, so that leaves you."

"Fine." Marth's expression morphed into a scowl. "I don't care. I don't need you. I don't need anybody. I'm fine on my own. I can't be lied to by myself."

Lucina didn't bother responding to him. She just turned and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her on the way out. That left Samus standing with Marth, who's scowl had morphed into an odd expression that she didn't even want to try and name, so she quickly followed her friend's lead and got the hell out of there.

Still, though, before she left, she couldn't resist making a jab at Marth.

"You know, Marth, they say that trust is the most important thing in a relationship. Isn't it funny how you, the one obsessed with trust, ended up ruining all of your relationships with others because of it?" Samus said scathingly.

He just laughed brokenly and muttered something under his breath. She didn't care enough to find out what it was, so she promptly exited the apartment to find Lucina sitting against the far wall, a dead expression on her face. Samus crouched down in front of her and rested a hand on her shoulder, which caught her attention. It was a bit awkward for her, since she was no good at comforting people who were upset, but oh well. Nobody else could do the job for her, so she'd have to deal with it.

"My place is closer. Is that alright with you?" Samus asked softly. She recognized the brittle look in the blue-haired girl's eyes, and it was highly unlikely that she would be able to hold herself together long enough to make it back to her apartment. Plus, Robin's body was still there, and that would not do Lucina any favors right now.

Lucina nodded, though it almost looked like she had barely registered anything that Samus had just said. The blonde stood up again and offered Lucina a hand, pulling her off the ground with little effort. She was surprisingly light, which was actually a bit concerning, but Samus decided to save any questions about it for later.

Walking quickly, it took about six or seven minutes to get to Samus's apartment. Thankfully, she lived in the building across the main street from Marth, which saved them a lot of time. Dashing across the road was a bit stressful because there were no crosswalks, but they managed alright. They got a few strange looks as they walked in the building, mostly because of the expression on Lucina's face, but overall things went very smoothly.

It took a bit of fumbling with the key to get the door unlocked, as usual. Samus had never been good at doing it, and it wasn't helped by the fact that the lock mechanisms were a bit sticky. Once she'd managed to get it open, Lucina entered the apartment without a second glance, discreetly wiping her eyes as she did so.

Nearly as soon as the lock clicked back into place as Samus shut the door behind her, the fragile expression on Lucina's face shattered and she just kind of started sobbing.

Samus didn't say anything. She just sat down next to her and (somewhat awkwardly) put an arm around her shoulders.


	50. FATHER.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Semi-detailed descriptions of blood, gore, and violence.

While Sheik may have been ready to leave in terms of his gear, he certainly wasn't emotionally ready to leave. Corrin wasn't awake yet, and after last night...

Sheik knew that Corrin wasn't the biggest fan of this mission to begin with, but he didn't have much say in the matter. Plus, it was for the sake of their future together that he was leaving. Every scouting mission that he did brought a peaceful future closer to reality. Checking to make sure that the letter was lying on the desk, in plain view should Corrin need to read it, Sheik stood and took a deep breath. Softly, making sure he didn't wake his sleeping boyfriend, he pressed a kiss to Corrin's forehead and whispered "I love you, and I promise I'll be back soon."

As he walked out of their bedroom and exited the apartment the two boys shared, Sheik felt his heart ache. This felt so... final. Like it was the last time that he would do this.

He shook his head and scoffed lightly. Lack of sleep and anxiety must be making him paranoid.

When Sheik arrived in the briefing room, he did a quick headcount to make sure he wasn't missing anyone. Matthew, Leila, Kohga, and Paya were here, but where was Kellam?

Oh, there he was. He just hadn't been visible from where Sheik was standing at the moment.

"Is everybody here?" Chrom asked as he walked into the room. There was literally nobody here at this hour, and the briefing now was just for going over last minute details.

"Yes, sir." Sheik replied. "All six of us are here and ready for action."

"Excellent." Chrom said, though he sounded tired. "As you're all aware, this mission is primarily for scouting. You'll be headed around the perimeter of the Headmaster's main facility in order to get to your real target, so be on your guard. You should map while you go, taking notes of troop movements and such. However, don't stress if you can't risk that while you're close to the man facility. When you're near the Manufacturing Facility, you definitely need to make sure you pay close attention. We need every bit of information about it that we can get."

Sheik and the rest of his team nodded. This was a tough task, but Sheik knew that he and his team could handle it. He was even confident that Kohga couldn't screw this up, even if the eccentric man had messed up in the past. Sure, it had been small mistakes, but mistakes were mistakes.

"Alright. You are dismissed. May Naga protect you all." Chrom stepped back from the briefing table and nodded his head towards the door.

"Behind me. I've got some things I'd like to add while we're en route." Sheik commanded softly. His voice wasn't loud, but it demanded respect. His team members all obeyed without hesitation, as they were used to his leadership by now.

Once they were out of the briefing room, Matthew spoke up. "Okay, I'll bite. What're your special orders, boss?"

At the blond man's remark, Sheik had to suppress a smile. Not that anybody could tell, due to the cloth mask he wore over his face, of course. "No blades showing unless we're in the middle of a fight. We don't want the metal to give our position away. Also, I think we're going to be using the buddy system. Keep an eye on your surroundings and your buddy at all times. If something goes wrong, I want to hear about it. Immediately. Use codenames when necessary." he explained, only glancing back to see the affirmative nods that his team members gave him.

Everything was going fine until the Headmaster's main facility came into view. Sheik had been on scouting missions to this part of enemy territory several times before, but now... something felt different. He couldn't explain it, but some sixth sense was ringing major alarm bells in his head.

"Get down. Now." Sheik hissed softly.

Six people dropped to a crouch. He counted to fifteen before motioning to move forward, staying low and using natural cover whenever possible. All the while, Sheik cursed his breath for sounding just a bit too loud.

They snuck around like this for fifteen minutes with no trouble, and they had nearly cleared the perimeter of the Headmaster's facility when the sound of steel sliding on leather sounded behind them.

The next thing Sheik heard was Leila's choked cry of pain, which was quickly cut off and followed by the ominous sound of two separate thuds on the grassy plain.

"Leila?" Matthew asked, completely forgetting to use her codename. "Leila, answer me!" When he didn't get a response, Sheik saw him stand and draw his weapon, which was a long-bladed dagger with a wicked curve to it.

"Matthew, get down!" Sheik commanded sharply, but it was no use. A shadowy figure with red hair came walking towards Matthew, and he laughed.

The laugh sent chills down Sheik's spine.

It was Roy.

"Oh my. Were you close with that poor girl? I'm afraid she couldn't take the pressure. It might have been a bit much for her pretty little head..." Roy chuckled darkly.

"What did you do to her?" Matthew yelled.

In response, Roy held up his blade. It was slick with blood, which could only have come from one person. But the red-headed boy didn't stop there. He knelt in the grass, and then after a moment of searching, he held up Leila's severed head.

It still dripped blood from the gash on her neck- or what used to be her neck. Leila's face was frozen in an expression of horror. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open in a soundless scream.

"Oh my gods..." Paya murmured. She was no stranger to severed heads, Sheik knew, but seeing someone you were close with was a different matter entirely.

"You... you monster!" Matthew shouted. He ran at Roy directly, completely abandoning everything he'd been taught in favor of a wild, rage-fueled dash.

Roy merely sidestepped his dash and plunged the bloody sword he held into Matthew's back. He twisted the blade, then removed it with a cruel jerk. As the spy fell to the ground, Roy leaned down and whispered "You'll be with her soon, don't worry."

His response to Matthew's agonized groan was to stab him again, this time in the approximate area that his heart was.

Matthew didn't move or cry out after that.

With a swift gesture, a group of white-robed soldiers carrying various different weapons appeared in a circle around the remaining members of Sheik's patrol.

They were trapped.

"On your feet. Now." Roy commanded. "That is, if you want to live a little bit longer than I was planning to let you."

Slowly, Sheik, Kohga, Paya, and Kellam did as they were told. In the eerie pre-dawn light, Sheik could barely make out Leila's body without its head lying in the approximate location that her scream had come from. Matthew's body lay at Roy's feet, and while he watched, Roy tossed Leila's head to the ground like it was nothing.

Roy walked forward.

"Ah, Sheik. It's so good to see you, my old friend." Roy said, voice laced with sarcasm.

"I wish I could say the same." Sheik replied dryly. 

"You wound me." Roy pretended to look hurt, and he placed his free hand above his heart. Or the space where his heart was supposed to be, anyway.

"Save your pretty words for someone who will listen." Sheik snapped.

"If you keep talking back to me, I might just have to kill one of your friends here." Roy purred, stepping closer to him. "Stay quiet, and they'll live."

"What do you want?" Sheik asked, trying not to cringe away from the redhead in front of him.

"I want to see you dead at my feet, but the Headmaster requested to see you. So you'll be coming with me, and your friends... oops, they'll die anyway." Roy giggled and gestured to one of the white-robed soldiers behind him. "Kill them. Kill them all. And make it quick, because my friend and I have an appointment to catch."

The soldiers surged forward, and Sheik knew it was a losing battle before it even began. Kellam fell first, crumpling under an axe that slipped past his guard and ended its deadly arc buried under his arm.

Kellam's cry of pain that followed was heart-wrenching to hear, if only because the brown-haired spy was so quiet all of the time. Sheik had seen him take harder blows than that without flinching, but from the angle of the axe's blade... he knew it was fatal before Kellam fell to the ground and didn't move again.

Roy stepped even closer to Sheik and whispered "Isn't it funny how fragile humans are? No matter what blood flows in their veins, it has a habit of ending up on the ground so easily..."

As Roy spoke, Kohga shoved Paya out of the path of a longsword, ending up with the sword buried in his own chest. The white-haired man coughed and spat blood in the face of his attacker. "You think you could best me with a simple sword stroke? Allow me to prove you wrong! I, Kohga Himura, will best you!"

"Shut up, fool." the soldier sneered at him, drawing a dagger from their belt and burying it in Kohga's gut.

With the last of his strength, Kohga drew one of his kunai knives and stabbed the soldier in the heart. He must have slipped the blade just between the soldier's ribs, because the agonized gasp that the soldier let out was quickly choked off.

"If I'm going down, you're coming with me. Bastard." Kohga wheezed a laugh and then collapsed, blood slowly pooling on the ground below him.

Paya was putting up one hell of a fight, as she'd managed to use the opportunity Kohga had given her to draw her katana. The deceivingly slender blade was slick with blood, and Paya herself had several minor wounds already.

For a moment, it seemed as thought she could actually pull off a victory. But then Roy sighed and started moving forwards. "Looks like I'll have to do this myself. Can't trust these fools to do anything." While he spoke, he kicked the arm of one soldier that Paya had taken care of, not even bothering to look to see who it used to be.

Almost without thinking, Sheik called a warning to Paya. "Cousin! Behind you!"

It turned out to be the death of her.

Paya turned towards the sound of his voice, sword whirling in an arc to face the supposed threat behind her.

And a soldier with a simple, standard-issue bastard sword stabbed her through the chest. They twisted the blade as they jerked it out, and his dear cousin collapsed.

Roy looked back at him and smirked. "Why do work myself if I have you to do it for me?"

The red-headed boy crouched down and sliced his blade across Paya's throat for good measure, then used her clothes to clean his blade off.

"It's funny, really. I don't know what color I was expecting you Sheikah to bleed. Maybe black, like the shadows your ancestors so enjoyed messing with? Or perhaps gold, like the Goddess Hylia herself? Though you always were her least favorite children. No wonder you turned to the shadows." Roy sneered. "Though I suppose red is fitting. For all that posturing you guys do about being superior to us humans, your blood says otherwise."

Sheik didn't answer. Or look at him. He just stared straight ahead, chin held high and stance proud.

He'd heard all of this before, so it wasn't anything new. Still, the pure hatred he felt was... out of the ordinary.

"Come on, blood-eye. Why won't you answer me? Or do I have to dye my hair blond and make my ears pointed to get you to reply? Wait, that probably won't work anyway. You still wouldn't listen, because you're a traitor." Roy laughed again, which was just as chilling as it had been before.

Despite himself, Sheik's hands curled into fists at his side. "My people may not have a very... peaceful past, but at least I have pride. Unlike you."

"Oh, so it speaks!" Roy exclaimed mockingly. "Shocking. Come on, beast, we've got places to be. We've wasted enough time with these pathetic creatures." Roy kicked at Kohga's limp body as he walked past, smirking while he did so. He pointed to one of his soldiers and said "You. Make sure these bodies get back to the facility. The Headmaster wants the Rebellion to know what happened here. Don't worry too much about the beheaded one's body. Just the head will be enough of a statement."

The soldier nodded and started directing the others.

Sheik didn't move, so Roy turned back to look at him. "If you won't come willingly, you won't like the consequences."

One of the soldiers gave Sheik a rough shove, sending him stumbling forwards. Roy took the opportunity to grab his forearm and start dragging him. Off-balance as he was, it took all of Sheik's considerable grace to avoid falling flat on his face.

As he was marched away, Sheik took one last glance back at the clearing where everything had gone wrong. He saw a soldier carrying Kohga's body away, then another one with Paya's body.

He felt horrible. Kohga had been like a brother to him. A stupid, obnoxious, idiot of an older brother, but he hadn't been cruel. He had understood Sheik. He had accepted him without question.

And Paya was his cousin. She had been fiercely defensive of him, even though she struggled with anxiety. She was always there for him.

Together, the two of them had guided Sheik through the code of the Sheikah, teaching him everything he needed to know. Because of them, he had found his place in the world. Because of them, he had finally been able to make peace with his past and move on. Sure, the trauma was still there, but he could finally talk about it without falling apart.

Now they were both gone.

Paya was dead because of him.

He had failed his brother and his cousin, and now he was being taken prisoner.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but by the time that the main gate of the Headmaster's main facility was in view, Sheik was pretty sure that any of his pride had been lost. He kept his head down, praying that his bangs covered his face. Two soldiers were marching on either side of him, and Roy was behind and to his side, keeping a firm grip on Sheik's wrists.

In short, it was humiliating. He wasn't tied up, but he knew he couldn't run any longer. His opportunity for that had vanished.

Roy and the soldiers marched him into a main hall, where the Headmaster sat on a white throne. They wore the same clothes that they had been wearing when Sheik had last seen them, and their blue eyes glimmered cruelly under their mask.

And suddenly, Sheik realized that the pattern on their mask was a Sheikah eye, painted over their left eye.

Right where the eye tattoo would go on a non-Sheikah who had married into the clan and wished to show their support.

That realization shocked him to his core. The genealogy records that he had found...

_Vincent Harkinian, married to Kaori Ishida._

_Children: Sheik and Zelda Ishida-Harkinan, aged one month at time of writing._

"Hello, son. It's so good to see you." the Headmaster laughed.

Sheik could hardly find the words to respond. His limbs felt weak, and he was sure his face was as white as a sheet. "No... no, you can't be..."

"What's the matter? Don't believe me?" the Headmaster asked. Slowly, they reached up and removed their mask. "Perhaps this will help."

And Sheik found himself staring at the spitting image of himself, albeit older and with blue eyes instead of red.

The hair... blond and cut short. The shape of the jawline... so familiar. The cheekbones... nearly a copy of his own.

"No. No. It can't be." Sheik murmured.

"We're the same, you and I. Except for your eyes. You have your mother's eyes." At the mention of his mother, the Headmaster's mouth tightened almost imperceptibly.

"No. You're lying to me. This can't be... I've met my father and mother already." Sheik protested weakly.

"The ones who are lying to you are the people who claim to be your parents, my son." 

He was quiet for a long moment, so shocked he could hardly think straight. Finally, he pulled himself together enough to snap "I won't fall for it! You're the same person who stood by and watched your minions torture me. And now you've brought me here to do what, exactly? Kill me? Torture me more? I won't tell you anything. I swear it on my life." 

"You really don't trust me that much?" the Headmaster asked. "What do I need to do to get you to believe me?"

Sheik just shrugged helplessly, unsure of how he was supposed to respond to that. 

And the Headmaster smiled. They seemed to delight in seeing the confusion evident on his face. 

Honestly, seeing the cruel smile on the face that looked so similar to his own was chilling. It sent shivers down his spine, and a brief memory of that cruel mask staring at him while he was tortured flickered through his consciousness.

Only this time, the mask wasn't there. It was just the Headmaster's face, smiling cruelly at him while it happened. 

"You should probably start by explaining why the hell you thought it was a good idea to torture a bunch of kids. Some of who were your children." Sheik said, if only to snap himself out of the daze he found himself falling into. 

"Hmm. Well. I don't care much for long speeches, so I'll spare you the sob story." the Headmaster rolled their eyes as they spoke. "An oversimplified version of it was that all of this is a long-drawn out revenge plan against the people who murdered my brother." 

Sheik stared blankly at the person who claimed to be his father, hardly comprehending what he had just said. 

"My older brother possessed an incredibly powerful Gift that hadn't manifested in decades. A gang of people killed him for the sake of obtaining his blood. I wanted revenge, and so I created the plan that I enacted on you and your friends. I actually didn't want to torture people, thanks to your mother. Kaori was a remarkably kind woman. Some of it must have rubbed off on me while we were married." the Headmaster's smile turned bitter as he spoke about his wife, though a hint of well controlled anger was still visible in his expression. "Of course, that ended when she ran off with you and Zelda. The two of you were born with the powerful Gifts I needed to go through with my plan. You and your sister were to be the centerpieces of my superhuman race of perfectly obedient soldiers."

"Do you even realize how _fucked up_ that is?" Sheik asked in disbelief.

"Oh, yes." the Headmaster responded, nodding nonchalantly as they spoke. "Your mother certainly did a good job of impressing that into my head the night before she took you and Zelda from me. But I don't care. All I want is to ensure nobody dies like my brother did." 

He didn't have words for that. How the hell was he supposed to respond to something like this? The sudden revelation that he was apparently related to the very person who had taken so much from him was shocking enough, but _this?_

"I don't believe you." Sheik said flatly. 

"Damn it, Sheik!" the Headmaster suddenly snapped, their features contorting into an angry scowl. "I'm telling you the truth!"

"You took everything from me!" Sheik yelled back at them. "You broke me and did all you could to hurt me and I'm supposed to believe you're my father? No father would ever do such a thing!" 

The Headmaster just laughed, not even bothering to verbally respond. 

"What did I ever do to you, huh? What did I _ever_ do for you to do those things for me?" Sheik was startled to feel tears in his eyes. He refused to cry. He would not give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing him cry any more than he already had. "Why did you do that? Am I really that disappointing?!" 

Their amused stare and continued silence only pushed Sheik's temper further past the breaking point, and he finally snapped "Answer me, damn it! You've got me here, O Great Headmaster. The least you could fucking do is give me some answers." 

Instead of responding with some snarky comment, they flinched. 

They actually flinched. 

"My name is Vincent." they said softly. "Please address me by my name." 

"Are you kidding me?" It was Sheik's turn to laugh sharply. "I shouldn't have to listen to _anything_ you have to say, Father."

Wait. 

He had just called him father.

On accident.

The Headmaster raised one eyebrow, the odd expression that had previously been on their face vanishing completely. "What was that?"

Sheik couldn't respond. He was at a complete loss for words once more. Why had he called him father out of his own volition? And why did it actually feel natural? 

"My son. I am telling you the truth. And I think you know that." they continued once it was clear that Sheik wasn't going to respond. 

It took a considerable amount of willpower to hold himself together as the reality of everything that he had learned settled on his shoulders. 

"Father..."

They nodded.

"Did I... was it my fault that Mother abandoned you?" 

Sudden change of topic, yes, but he needed to know. It was likely his fault. It would explain why the Headmaster- no, _Vincent_ \- hated him so much. 

"In essence? Yes." Vincent nodded sharply. "You were a child, so it wasn't really your fault, but you were certainly involved." 

"Is that why you hurt me?" Sheik asked quietly, biting back a sob while he spoke. 

They nodded again.

"I hate you." Sheik choked out. "I wish you were dead."

Vincent's hands tightened on the arms of his chair.

Roy, who had been standing behind him and watching this entire exchange without any reaction whatsoever, grabbed Sheik's hair and pulled, forcing his head back. Suddenly, the pressure of a blade was at his throat. He realized what Roy was going to do as soon as the redhead spoke, and panic overwhelmed any of the other emotions he was feeling. "Any last words, beast?" Roy sneered.

After hearing the words spat at him, Sheik fought Roy's grip, but it was in vain. Roy just gripped his hair tighter and shoved the blade more violently against his throat. Blood welled up from the shallow cut. "Don't struggle. You'll only make this worse, beast." Roy hissed in his ear, cutting a little deeper.

So Sheik stopped struggling and locked eyes with his father. "I'm sorry I wasn't the son you wanted, Father." He swallowed and felt the edge of Roy's blade dig into his throat a bit more.

His father didn't say anything back, but there was an odd look in his eyes. A dangerous look, even.

A sudden calm washed over him, completely erasing the panic of being grabbed and held in such a compromising position as he felt Roy's arm move, dragging the blade across his throat with a harsh jerking motion.

He barely felt it, really. Almost in a daze, Sheik reached up to his throat. He could feel a gash there, and it was bleeding an alarming amount. His fingers came away red, but that wasn't really a concern of his.

Sheik tried to take a breath, but he felt like he was choking. He coughed, falling to his hands and knees and doubling over. Blood dripped out of his mouth and stained the armor he wore. Again, he coughed, but it was even weaker than before. He couldn't breathe, but he could literally feel the blood clogging his throat.

_I can't breathe._

Black spots danced in his vision, and Sheik knew that when he closed his eyes, he wouldn't open them again. With a detached fascination, he came to the conclusion that Roy must have severed his trachea and hit both his carotid artery and his jugular vein, which was a death sentence.

_I'm dying._

"It's funny how your sister is the one who led you here in the end. She always hated you, and now she's exacting her revenge on you." Roy sneered. He crouched down and forced Sheik to look at him, a cruel smile on his face.

The obvious shock that his words brought must have been plain as day on Sheik's face, as the redhead laughed and kept talking. "That's right. Your sister has been spying for us. She was the one who told us where to find your patrol. Zelda told us that she wanted you dead, because it would be so much easier for all of your friends if you just died already."

Well, it's not like it was unexpected, considering the argument that the two of them had gotten into after Link's death, but still. The confirmation hurt. 

Sheik kept trying to breathe, his breaths sounding like choked gasps. Panic was beginning to set in as he felt his arms and legs weaken. He coughed once more, spattering blood in Roy's face. He snarled and stood up, kicking at Sheik's ribs.

The kick sent any remaining air out of his lungs, and his ragged gasps started picking up speed as his lungs tried desperately to keep him alive. And he was still bleeding, his blood slowly pooling on the ground below him. There was so much blood... more blood than he would have thought his body contained, really.

"I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to kill you, filthy faggot. It's a shame I won't be able to watch you squirm while I gut your little boyfriend like a fish." Roy sneered.

Weakly, Sheik looked up at his father. Vincent was watching all of this with a scowl on his face, not even looking bothered that his own son was bleeding out before him. Sheik tried to say something- he wasn't even sure what he was trying to say, his own thoughts were sluggish and jumbled. All that came out was a choked noise, followed by more coughing.

He could feel his hold on consciousness slipping. 

Thanks to Roy's confirmation, he now knew that his own sister had hated him for a long time. So, then, had anybody actually cared about him in the first place? 

All these self-loathing thoughts that he had buried were coming to the surface now. In his delirious state, he could do nothing to stop himself from becoming convinced that his friends were just pretending to like him. That his own sister had just been pretending to like him.

Maybe even Corrin had just been pretending to love him.

Despite himself, a broken, gasping sob fell past his lips. Corrin... he'd promised to return. And now here he was, dying at his father's feet. Sheik tried to speak, to voice his thoughts and his apology to his love, but nothing besides a choked noise came out.

_I'm sorry, Corrin. It looks like I won't be coming back._

_I love you._

As Sheik tried to take one, final breath, he heard his father say "And I'm sorry I couldn't be the father you deserved, Sheik." The words were soft, but Sheik still heard them.

Just like he heard Roy say "You and Corrin never had a chance together anyways. Be glad I killed you."

It was the last thing Sheik would ever hear.

He didn't have too much time to dwell on either of the two statements he had just heard, which was probably for the better, in all honesty. 

His eyes fluttered closed, unable to stay open any longer.

Despite everything, his lungs were working to keep him alive. It was an effort that was in vain, but his lungs hadn't realized that yet. As his thoughts slowed to a trickle, his chest shuddered as he inhaled one last time, and then he was still.

While his breath may have stopped, his heart continued to pump blood out of the gash in his neck. Even then, the flow slowed to a trickle, then stopped entirely.

It was there, lying at the feet of the man who had fathered him, tortured him, beaten him, and broken him, that Sheik Ishida-Harkinian died, slaughtered like an animal and left to bleed out.


End file.
